by Kazuhiko Shimizu

01 December 2008

Juba, Sudan: Greetings from Juba, Southern Sudan. November is the beginning of the dry season here and I am enjoying the nice weather, heat and dusty roads. The beginning of the dry season means the beginning of the return season – those who fled from their homeland because of the protracted civil war have started coming back to Southern Sudan.

I now serve as an External Relations Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Southern Sudan. My assignment is part of the 'Pilot Program for Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding', which is commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and implemented by Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (HPC). After completing six weeks of in-country training on peacebuilding in Japan, I came to Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan.

My first week in Juba coincided with the visit of a Japanese Government delegation from Tokyo. They were visiting Juba to attend the handover ceremony of 60 portable water purifiers, which the Government of Japan had donated to UNHCR. I was lucky to accompany them to receive briefings, visit a way station and meet with NGOs.

Once we receive these water purifiers, we have to deliver them. We also need to teach local people how to use them. We also need to monitor whether they continue to be used in a sustainable manner. Transportation and communication among towns in Southern Sudan is not easy due to the extremely poor road condition, so the delivery of these water purifiers is a challenge. Now we have started discussing the delivery plan in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS).

The main responsibility of my job regards the Teacher Training Institute (TTI) project which is implemented by UNHCR. The project plans to construct two TTIs and satellite primary schools in Southern Sudan, funded by the Government of Japan. This project is expected to provide returnees and host communities with a meaningful opportunity to increase equitable access to quality education.

It involves the GoSS Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Embassy of Japan, UNHCR, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), JEN (a Japanese NGO) and NRC (the Norwegian Refugee Council), so coordination of these many actors is the key to the project. I think this is why UNHCR needed an External Relations Officer and thus I am here.

In the third week I went on my first mission to Kapoeta and Yei, insisting that the External Relations Officer should know the situation on the ground. Because of the changed flight schedule, we could only stay less than two hours in Kapoeta and only an evening and the following early morning in Yei. Still, it was really a memorable trip.

Although you might think Juba is the edge of the world, it is still not really a field. In Kapoeta I met returnees from the Kakuma camp (Kenya), some of whom were interviewed by Miraya FM (United Nations Mission in Sudan radio) how they felt about being back to their homeland. It was impressive that so many of them raised their hands to express their joy at returning their country. It was also impressive that they explained how much UNHCR supported them, including HIV/AIDS and Mine Risk Awareness.

In Yei, we visited some community development project sites, where we heard how UNHCR has made tangible differences to the lives of returnees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For example, one woman was trained by UNHCR while in asylum and got a certificate for soap making. One day after returning to Southern Sudan, she knocked on the door of UNHCR, asking for support. With a modest amount of funds provided by UNHCR, she started soap making, formed a community group and now trains other group members. Now her children go to school and hygiene of their family has improved. Although she still faces challenges, such as access to water and transportation of products, UNHCR does make a difference to her life.

I appreciate this post of External Relations Officer because I meet and work with a wide variety of people who are engaged with refugee-related issues. I meet with Government officials, donors, NGOs and other UN agencies, while I also go to the field and meet with returnees and local people. I hope to travel to refugee camps in the near future.

Fortunately, both the UNHCR office and accommodation have their own canteens, so we never miss meals except lunch on weekends. This is important because the prices here are quite high since everything is imported, mainly from Uganda and Kenya. Although the land in Southern Sudan is famous for being fertile, the products do not come to Juba because of the poor transportation infrastructure. Surprisingly, Juba is connected with Uganda and Kenya, but not with many of local towns in Southern Sudan.

All in all, I have been very much enjoying my work and life in Juba. I must say I am often frustrated by the slow pace here - everything takes time and energy. But I have had invaluable experiences. After more than two decades of civil war that devastated the country, people are now ready to build peace and make their lives better. I am excited to join this endeavour and hope that I will be able to make more contributions in the coming few months.