The organization Peace Canal launched a 15-day training workshop in Rumbek, Lakes State, on Thursday for 20 women to become facilitators in a program aimed at building peace across South Sudan.
The participants, known as “women’s peace bridges,” were drawn from the states of Jonglei, Lakes, and Warrap, as well as the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
The focus on peace training, especially for women, is a direct response to the country’s profound and complex challenges.
Angelina Ding Mario, Lakes State’s minister of gender, child, and social welfare, praised the initiative. “We need peace in South Sudan,” she told Radio Tamazuj. “When there is peace, then there is development.”
She emphasized the unique role of women as decision-makers who transcend tribal and regional boundaries through marriage. “All of us, we love each other, and that’s why I am nominated to go and educate the innocent young ones,” Mario said. “The majority who are suffering are women and children because they are the most vulnerable citizens.”
The training is part of a broader, year-long effort that organizers say has already had a positive impact in several communities.
“We believe that women are the people who can make peace easier because they are the ones helping in our households,” said Nyandok Biel Makuac, a representative from Jonglei State. “Every decision is in their hands. They can talk to their children or to their husbands easily.”
Mary Arun Gol, Peace Canal’s area coordinator for Lakes State, explained that the program was created to address a gap in peacebuilding.
“We have found a gap where women are left behind,” Gol said. “Women have gone through a lot during the intercommunal conflicts.” She said the project provides a dedicated space for women to discuss issues like gender-based violence and to participate actively in reconciliation.
Nyanhok Malou, Lakes State’s minister of peacebuilding, urged the participants to use the workshop to empower themselves and others.
“This space is an opportunity to share our ideas and stories,” Malou said. “It is the women who lose their husbands and it is the women who lose their children… For them to survive, they have to know the role to play.”
After the training, the facilitators will return to their communities to lead local peace initiatives.
Peace Canal is a non‑governmental organization focused on conflict transformation, reconciliation, inclusive community‑led peace governance, and building resilience among communities.