Hakiran haya ta nas talah kwesh!
The Humanitarian Partnership Between AVSI and ECHO in South Sudan
After a lengthy hiatus from the initial ECHO funding in Sudan, AVSI, an Italian NGO, implemented a new ECHO grant in 2003 in response to sudden displacement caused by attacks of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the battle for Torit Town in September 2002. In 2004, with ECHO’s support, AVSI organized a one-month “on the road” assessment of what was then Greater Torit. The war had ended, and the frenzy of peace talks in Kenya was under way when an Italian medical doctor, a photographer, two key Sudanese staff members and the AVSI Country Representative embarked on an explorative journey to visit the diverse villages and areas of this vast land. Visiting 31 villages, AVSI met with community leaders and youth, collecting information on all aspects of the villages; from water access to health, education to agricultural practices, and ultimately, to expectations for the future.
As Pietro Galli, the AVSI Representative reflected, "A refugee in Pakistan was once quoted as saying: 'When one is a refugee, nobody asks you how you are…' Here in Sudan though, I instead listened to a donor representative ask a group of beneficiaries 'Are things getting better?' In projects and reports we typically concentrate on results and indicators to measure change, but it’s important to occasionally ask those we work to help this question directly."
These photos are excerpts from a photo book that explored the place, the people and the work being done by AVSI in South Sudan just prior to independence, ultimately trying to understand better this crucial question... "Are things getting better?"
