KAIROS is encouraged by the recent formation of a transitional coalition government in South Sudan. The country has been plagued by a brutal civil war that has killed almost 400,000 people since the country’s birth in 2011.
The South Sudan Council of Churches-National Women’s Programme (SSCC-NWP) likely had a hand in this development. Its women peacebuilders have painstakingly laid the groundwork for peace for years. Just last summer, beginning in July, they gathered thousands of women for collective fasting and prayers, culminating in A National Day of Fasting and Prayers for Peace on September 19 in Juba, the nation’s capital. SSCC women mobilized an event at the State House, or Presidential Palace, involving 1,200 people, including the President, two Vice Presidents, the Chairman of the National Assembly, Ministers of government, the Governor of Jubek state, the Deputy Chair of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement / In-Opposition, and generals of the armed forces. And, on September 21, SSCC-NWP celebrated the International Day of Peace in Malakal, located in the Greater Upper Nile Region. More than 6,300 people participated in women-focused programming at Malakal Stadium. The event included internally displaced persons from the nearby Protection of Civilians camp. |