Exchange to Change Sept 2017 20170911 E2C zomer web | Page 8

8
INTERVIEW
civilians out of the three counties to an
area called Aburoc IDP camp. Cordaid and
others agencies’ assets were looted during
the April 2017 attack on Kodok Town
(capital of Shilluk). All humanitarian staff
fled Kodok to Aburoc, bordering Sudan.
Together with more than 30 humanitarian
staff, I was evacuated from Aburoc at the
end of April to Juba. But at the moment
Cordaid and its partner are resuming
the implementation of the project as the
situation is somehow improving.
E2C: Within this challenging setting,
which actions or results did you achieve
that you are particularly proud of?
LDA: Above all, I am proud of
implementing resilience activities to make
sure the linking of relief, rehabilitation
and development (LRRD) pioneered
by Cordaid is realized in South Sudan.
Cordaid’s approach, linking the emergency
program with resilience program (PRO-
ACT project), is in action in Upper Nile
in order to help transform the lives of
the community while taking care of
emergency needs. Most households have
insufficient food and need to be assisted
in order to spend time on the project.
Through a Dutch humanitarian public
funding campaign, Cordaid has gathered
resources, which will be used to support
the community and create a link between
the PRO-ACT project and humanitarian
responses. Last but not least, I am proud
of the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach
that forms the basic structure for the
whole project and also the Community
Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
(CMDRR) approach that brings people
together within the same community
to empower them to jointly address a
common disaster risk and to communally
pursue common disaster risk reduction
measures. The basic strategy is to work
with and support community groups and
county structures to identify and jointly
implement food security and disaster
resilient activities.
E2C: Which actions have been taken by
the actors in the field and how adequate
are these actions according to you?
LDA: Humanitarian agencies need
increased funding from donors to respond
to the urgent humanitarian needs in
the country and continue the support
for recovery and resilience. The absence
of access due to the conflict precludes
aid workers from quickly reaching those
in need in remote parts of the country.
With regard to ending the bloody civil
conflict that has engulfed the nation since
December 2013, the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) has
already made several attempts to bring
peace and a handful of peace agreements
have been signed (the most recent was
signed in August 2015). However, they
have been repeatedly violated and the
situation remains highly unstable. There
is an ongoing effort by the South Sudan
government for national dialogue - which
is appreciated. However, to make the
national dialogue an inclusive process
opposition groups should also be enabled
to participate actively.
RR: Most Western donor governments
decided to untie food aid, which is a
major achievement. Admittedly, the
major reason that the EU, for instance,
abandoned its price support schemes was
not the recognition that the tied food aid
may not have been very efficient, and even
detrimental to recipient countries, but
rather that such policies did not achieve
their main goal, to mitigate against the
consequences of the shift of economic
opportunities from agriculture to the
secondary and tertiary sectors. But two
problems remain. First, in times of food
crises, there are just not enough resources
to address the most pressing needs. And
second, the US, with half of all food aid the
largest donor by far, keeps much of its aid
Kujiek with vulnerable section of the
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