MAF flights brought sanitation supplies to Rubkona in South Sudan, where Tearfund is changing lives through borehole projects.
Student Nyakoi Dier knows that access to clean water is making a difference for her education and future.
Tearfund, supported by MAF flights, has rehabilitated 14 boreholes in the Rubkona and Budang Payam areas in collaboration with the State Government Water Department, with ten more currently in progress. Rubkona Primary School and Danger Primary School, located on the same compound, now benefit from clean water thanks to Tearfund.
“The 15-year-old, who attends Danger Primary School, says, ‘Having water available at school means I no longer have to worry about returning home in the middle of the day to drink water. ‘I can also attend my classes fully even when I’m in my menstrual period without missing any day of the month.’
Tearfund Country Director for South Sudan, Erickson Bisetsa, said MAF flights to the area in Unity State, a 420-mile journey from the capital, Juba, had provided an important link for WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) supplies, including buckets, bins and brooms.
Having a partnership with the MAF enables us to shape or dispatch the program supplies across various sectors to beneficiaries on time,’ he says.
Consecutive years of flooding mean that the airstrip is an island surrounded by floodwater. It isn’t hard to see the challenges people face in the communities beyond.
‘In Rubkona, we have a water, sanitation and hygiene project that is being implemented in schools as well as in the communities. We are providing clean water by rehabilitating boreholes to ensure that our communities in Rubkona have access to clean water,’ Erickson says.
‘Our focus is on institutions like schools, nutrition sites, and health centres, helping them to access improved sanitation facilities.
For the hygiene component, we work through the community structure. These are hygiene promoters to be able to disseminate educational hygiene messages around improving hygiene practices at the household level.’
Teacher Albino Chuol explains how the 1,500 pupils at Rubkona Primary School are benefiting.
‘We’ve seen a tremendous difference since the borehole was rehabilitated. Student enrolment and attendance have both increased,’ he says.
‘Access to clean water has significantly affected students' overall wellbeing, and instances of diarrhoea have also reduced. Not only are more students showing up for classes, but they also seem more focused and engaged!’ Tearfund’s Country Director acknowledges the contribution made by MAF. ‘We hope that this partnership can expand so that Tearfund can benefit from the available cargo services that MAF is offering to be able to support our communities in Rubkona and beyond,’ Erickson says.
‘There are many occasions where we have sought support from MAF. When our CEO visited South Sudan, we took him to Mundri facilitated by MAF.’
He has his own special memory from October 2022 of how MAF helped a former colleague access quality healthcare.
‘I was working with another organisation in the field in Malakal and one of my colleagues fell sick. He experienced a stroke and couldn't walk, even talking was a problem. We took him to the nearest health facility. Then we decided to evacuate him to Juba, where he could access improved medical services.
‘I was part of the team that facilitated this fellow to be able to move from Malakal to Juba. We were supported by MAF. We were two people plus the pilot. The airplane didn't have seats inside and I sat with the pilot in the cabin. I spent 1.5 hours chatting with him and enjoying the communication between him and the airport. That was really exciting and a good experience!’
STORY / JENNY DAVIES PHOTOS / IISAKKI SAARI