PERSONAL HISTORY AND FORMATION OF AMANI ORPHANS AND WIDOWS WELFARE SERVICE.
 

My name is Isaiah Akuot Abdalla Ajak. I was born in South Sudan before the second civil war broke out in 1983. I’m the oldest in my family. My father had two wives and my mother is the second wife. I’m an Australian citizen by registration. I am the founder of Amani Orphans and Widows Welfare Service. I decided to form Amani Orphans and Widows Charity organization because I was left as an orphan in my early 20s with my younger siblings and we went through hardships, despairs and psychological traumas when our father died on 11/01/2000 in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Lives of orphans and widows become miserable when husbands who are considered to be breadwinners die in African context. Men are always the breadwinners culturally in many African societies.

My fathers name is Abdalla Ajak Ayom. When he was alive, he was the source of my family livelihoods. When he died, we lost everything and we were left at the mercy of United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and other UN Agencies for food, clean water, shelters and education. We suffered extremely badly in the camp. The suffering forced two of my brothers to go back to South Sudan instead of suffering in the extreme heat of Northern Kenya where Kakuma Refugee Camp is located. The temperature in Kakuma is between 30C to 50C every day in a year.

Life in Kakuma Refugee Camp was unbearable, but for me it was better than being in war ravaged South Sudan where you keep running for your own dear life every day. There was free education and free food which was a glimpse of hope and prosperity for me. I had hopes that with this little free education and accommodation in the camp, I will be somebody in the future. I focused on studying hard to finish my high school.

When I finished my year 12 in 2003 I was offered a position as a primary school teacher in the camp before I came to Australia. With my basic education at Kakuma Refugee Camp I was admitted to the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle in 2011. I completed my Bachelor of Counselling in 2014 and I was offered my first job as a Support Worker by Palmerston Association at the Farm in May 2015. After a few months I was employed as Counsellor/Educator by Cyrenian House. In 2016, I was employed by NEAMI National as Community Rehabilitation and Support Worker. It is through education that I had put my hopes in at Kakuma Refugee Camp that has changed my life for the better today. Through education I am hoping to change the lives of orphans and widows in South Sudan as “Education is a key to life” although it is not a privilege to a good lifestyle as many people believe it. Through Help and Assistance, I am who I am today.

The idea to form this orphans and widows charity organization came to my mind when my village in Pan-Yach at Papeer in South Sudan was attacked by Murle cattle rustlers on 14/12/2016. Murle cattle raiders attacked Papeer village at around 5pm killing over 30 men, children and women in less than two hours! Most of the dead men were married and had children. The surviving families ran to river Nile swamps to hide from cattle raiders while men were fighting. When they returned, they found their village razed down, loved ones dead and all the cattle, goats and sheep taken by Murle cattle raiders. They were left with nothing but dead bodies of men, women and children.

The orphans and widows ran to government control areas to seek refuge and others went to the United Nations Mission compounds in South Sudan for better humanitarian services. Up to now many of the orphans and widows have not yet returned to their villages due to insecurity, famine and lack of basic essential services to start their lives again.

As a destitute and vulnerable orphan in the past, I have felt the hardships, vulnerabilities, despairs and psychological traumas the orphans and widows are experiencing in war torn South Sudan today when their fathers or husbands died through natural death, cattle raids, civil war, tribal wars, assassinations or homicide. Death is rampant and inevitable in South Sudan due to ongoing civil war, famine, cattle rustlings and lack of proper medical facilities. Government is unable to provide proper security to the needy and basic medical facilities due to ongoing civil war which forces the government to spend national budget on wars. Poverty in South Sudan has caused government officials to implicate themselves in corruptions, public funds embezzlements and misappropriations which makes it hard for common citizens to live decent lives.

I have decided to assist the orphans and widows because of the compassion and generosity I saw from my cousin James Kuol Wel Deng when we lost our father at Kakuma Refugee Camp. When my father died the family had no money to conduct a funeral. James Kuol Wel sacrificed his two months salary for my fathers funeral. Ganghoi Community Members joined in and they managed to raise over 35,000 Kenyan shillings ($348 USD) for his funeral. My fathers funeral was done to honour him and to lay him to rest. If the funeral was not conducted it could have been a big shame to the family and the generation after us. James Kuols compassion and generosity taught me to sacrifice the little I have to the needy and the most vulnerable orphans and widows.

Living a compassionate and generous life is crucial in ones own personal life and brings help and hope to fellow humans who are doing it tough and need it the most. Hopes and necessities are what drive humans to strive for the future in order to find meaning in life. Necessity is what drives a man with the hope for a better future. As a result I have decided to give hope to orphans and widows in order to strive for a better future in their lives.

South Sudan has never been at peace since time immemorial. It has been at war with itself through tribal wars before the Ottoman Turk invasion in 1800. The Ottoman Turks faced fierce resistance from locals until 1900 when the British Empire became the global power. Sudan was occupied by the British in 1905 who then left in 1956 after granting independence to Sudan. Sudans first civil war started on 24th Aug 1955 before independence as South Sudanese fought for their Self Autonomy from British colonialists. The war raged on until 1972 when the Addis Ababa agreement was signed. The second civil war broke out on 16th May 1983 when South Sudanese became dissatisfied with Khartoum government system of administration and natural resources distribution. The war raged on again until January 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the SPLM/SPLA rebel group and Khartoum government. Peace returned after 21 years of notorious and deadly war which left 2.5million people dead and over 1.5 million citizens displaced both internally and externally. The third civil war broke out after the president and his vice president fell out on 15th Dec 2013. This civil war has caused mass exodus of refugees to neighbouring countries and some internally displaced in United Nation Mission compounds in South Sudan. It is estimated that nearly 5 million South Sudanese are internally displaced and food insecure due to famine, civil war and political unrest among the politicians and military officers.

Most of the orphans and widows in South Sudan are displaced from their villages due to ongoing civil war, political unrest and famine. More than 5 million South Sudanese are being cared for by United Nations Agencies and other International organizations. As per UN reports, there is no immediate solution to South Sudan civil war, political unrest and famine. Only peace and political settlement can restore normality, proper security and stable governance.

In conclusion, as an adult orphan who has gone through extreme hardships, has been given hope by Australian government through humanitarian settlement and living a simple decent life in Australia, I have decided to offer hope and assistance to vulnerable orphans and widows who are doing it tough in jungles of South Sudan and neighbouring countries. I stand up for them as a catalyst of hope and rebuilding through Amani Orphans and Widows Welfare Service Inc. Charity Organization as my cousin James Kuol Wel stood up for my family to facilitate my father’s funeral. May God Bless the orphans and widows in South Sudan. May God bring peace and political settlement to the fledgling nation. May God have mercy on the South Sudan Nation.