As a child growing up in Liberia, “I always knew something was wrong,” says Gertrude Garway, International Medical Corps’ Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Manager in South Sudan. She watched as young girls around her were forced to marry much older men, who then raped and beat them. When these women or girls in forced marriages resisted …
“It has reached epidemic proportions.” This is how Sara Othow, Caseworker with International Medical Corps team in Aburoc, South Sudan, describes the level of sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) in the country. When I interviewed Sara about the situation in South Sudan earlier this year, she explained that several factors are behind the high levels …
Ours is a world that far too often tolerates violence against women and girls, making egregious transgressions disturbingly commonplace and pervasive. When a woman or girl experiences violence, sexual or otherwise, she needs comprehensive care to help heal the detrimental—and at times irreparable—physical and psychological consequences. International Medical Corps provides critical gender-based violence (GBV) treatment …
International Medical Corps has provided assistance and training in southern Sudan for almost 25 years. South Sudan became independent in 2011, and a bloody civil war broke out two years later. Since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, 4 million people have left their homes—85% of them women and children. In an economy …
In 2013, conflict broke out in South Sudan. A hopeful country—one that won its independence just two years earlier, on July 9, 2011—found itself imploding. To date, the vicious and bloody civil war between government and opposition forces is believed to have claimed at least 50,000 lives, driven 2 million people out of the country …
Samuel Mbuto is full of heart. I hear it immediately. It’s something more than passion or conviction for a cause; it’s a delicate hopefulness and an innate joyfulness built from years of dedication and hard work. As a Nutrition Manager for International Medical Corps, Samuel consistently confronts harrowing starvation in children and, sometimes, devastating loss. …
As part of International Medical Corps’ commitment to combatting gender based-violence (GBV) in South Sudan, we are working on a number of different programs that empower women within the community. Among other things, we offer training in business management and leadership skills that aim to prevent GBV risks while empowering them within their households and their …
Even in the most advanced industrialized countries, mental health can be quite a taboo issue. In developing countries? It can be virtually nonexistent, with an average of one psychiatrist for every two million people. Things are starting to change, however—thanks in large part to people like Esubalew Haile, a psychiatrist from Ethiopia and Mental Health …
My name is Kenyi Friday Lodu. I am 25 years old. I was born in Kajo Keji County, south of South Sudan’s capital of Juba. Due to fighting in South Sudan, I grew up in neighboring Uganda until the age of 14 before returning to my home country in 2005. I lost my father in …
An independent country since 2011, South Sudan spiraled into civil war in late 2013. The conflict has created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in which 4 million people have been forced from their homes and 6 million people are facing severe food insecurity. The endless violence and displacement puts women and girls at risk of violent …