South Sudan in Focus: Work with Recently Released Child Soldiers is Just Beginning
On Wednesday, February 7th, more than 300 child soldiers were released by armed groups in Yambio, South Sudan. CMMB has played an active role with the recently released child soldiers. As key partners for child protection in the area around Yambio, and other parts of South Sudan, and an advocate for the well-being of children, CMMB is actively involved in the overall disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program of these children. Together with funding partner UNICEF, CMMB has helped to renovate the child transit center at the ministry of education, gender, and social welfare.
Our CEO and president, Bruce Wilkinson, recently visited this child transit center in Yambio, South Sudan where he met and spoke with several of the girls currently living at the center. While there, Bruce spoke with Ayen Bior of Voice of America about the long road to recovery ahead. He was featured as part of their program South Sudan in Focus.
South Sudan in Focus – February 16th, 2018: South Sudan peace talks in Addis Ababa adjourn without an agreement in place to restore peace in the country; South Sudanese advocates begin work to provide counseling and health services for freed child soldiers; and U.N. and education officials launch a “back to learning” campaign to help re-open dozens of schools in Kapeota State.
Bruce Wilkinson was featured as part of this program and spoke about the work around counseling and health services for free soldiers. His segment begins at minute 17:35.
“Last week hundreds of children were released in Yambio, but as Ayer Bior reports, the hard work of providing trauma counseling, health services, and reuniting the children with their patients are just beginning. Over 300 children were freed last week, among them were six babies ranging from four months to a year and a half, born to young girls who were among the child soldiers.”
Now they are in the phase where they are going to get three months of psycho social support. It goes from, in-depth counseling, play therapy, enjoying each other, and feeling secure again. And then as they feel more secure they start to express their emotions, they start to talk about what went on in their lives. They are very reticent right now to begin deep dialogue about what happened to them. – Bruce Wilkinson
Listen to the full program:
