Kapoeta, June 2008

On Thursday June 26, Dutch ambassador Johan Wolfs opened SNV’s new regional office in Kapoeta, South Sudan. SNV has been present in Sudan since 2005 and will expand its activities in the near future. Upon his arrival in Kapoeta, Ambassador Wolfs was greeted by SNV’s country director Stuart Worsley as well as by Sudan state officials and representatives of various NGO’s operating in the area. After stopping at the commissioner’s office in Kapoeta, the ambassador went on to the new SNV building for the opening ceremony.
At the ceremony, which was accompanied by traditional dances, Wolfs expressed his admiration for SNV’s work and the commitment of its staff.
SNV started work in Sudan in 2005 with just one portfolio based in Kapoeta but extended its activities rapidly, opening a new office in Juba in February 2006. Activities in the area are focused on education, water and sanitation, livestock and non-timber forest products. Given the importance of governance in development and the fact that South Sudan is a post conflict state, special attention is being paid to Governance for Empowerment and Peace Building and Conflict Transformation.
Although facing a huge development challenge in South Sudan, SNV can already report results:
-efforts in economical development have resulted in the harvesting and marketing of about 50 tonnes of gum acacia, to the benefit of local households
-an education campaign in Kapoeta South has led to the enrolment of an additional 400 girls into schools within the county
-governance and service delivery have been improved

SNV has furthermore supported State Ministries to identify and train key officers to be posted to Counties for service delivery, and to coordinate various activities and stakeholders in the education sector.

SNV plans to expand its activities in the area. For 2008 the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) allocated a total of €1,033,000 to SNV South Sudan. These funds will be used for supporting core costs for capacity building work.
In order to be more effective in its work, SNV South Sudan expects to raise additional resources from other agencies and is currently exploring partnerships with other organizations (UNICEF, UNDP, MDTF / World Bank) to this purpose.