FAO News – June 3 2020

Figure: A typical class for herders’ children in South Sudan before COVID-19. ©FAO/Andreea Campeanu

In South Sudan, livestock means life. As South Sudanese herders put it: here, cattle can chase away hunger.

Over 65 percent of the population relies on livestock for their survival. Children grow up on milk. Families survive on meat, milk and cattle’s blood.

Losing one’s cattle is like losing one’s life savings.

So, when the dry season sets in and water and grass get scarce, herders must move. They move with their families and animals – up to three, four times or more per year – in search of pasture and water.

This means herders’ children can’t go to school and miss out on an education. Relying solely on their cattle to survive can also make life extremely difficult for pastoralist communities.

In 2016, FAO and UNESCO, with support from the European Union, have teamed up to roll out an educational programme in the cattle camps of Lakes and Central Equatoria states, in the centre and south of the country. 

First, the two UN agencies worked with the Government of South Sudan on a curriculum, and developed training materials for teachers and manuals for students. Then, they trained community members who already had a basic education to roll out a numeracy and literacy programme and teach skills that enable herders to engage in a range of activities to meet their needs.

More than just education

So far, 63 community members have been trained as teachers, and over 2 000 herders and their children – 91 percent of the targeted cattle camps’ population - participated in the educational programme. 

To help herders put in practice what they learnt, FAO has been providing them with vegetable seeds, farm tools, fishing kits, solar-powered water tanks, animal health kits and setting up milk bars in towns close to the cattle camps, where herders can sell their excess milk.

Children have been learning fast and making progress in their studies. The education that cattle camp schools are offering to herders’ children will increase their chances of getting emerging jobs as the country develops. A big step as over 70 percent of South Sudanese children are out of school, putting at risk their and their country’s future.

Adults have been fishing and growing vegetables, producing yoghurt, making “mandazi” (a pastry similar to doughnuts) and other products they can sell. As a result, their diets are more varied and nutritious, they can earn an additional income, and are no longer solely dependent on their cattle. Young people who have participated in the classes are less likely to engage in conflict. 

And so, amongst its many benefits, through education, the project ensures peace and food security, two of the fundamentals needed most.

See http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1278210/