Caritas SS Strategic Direction
2018 - 2021
Disaster/emergency preparedness and humanitarian response
South Sudan is a country that has experienced the effects of disasters (both natural and man-made) that have manifested themselves in the form of war, inter-ethnic fighting and outbreak of diseases among others. These disasters have led to loss of life, destruction of property of those displaced people and the lootings of their assets as well as massive displacement of the population thus negatively affecting their livelihood since the conditions are not conducive for normal livelihood activities to be undertaken. This situation has therefore led to severe food insecurity and dependent on relief activities. It is therefore evident that these disasters have gone a long way in aggravating suffering for people and especially the most vulnerable including women and children. The country remains highly volatile and uncertain as to when peace will be restored. The poor have been trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty with no assets and basic goods and services for their survival. Caritas South Sudan is convinced that the risk of disasters can be reduced if preventive measures are taken. However, when these disasters cannot be prevented, responding timely and appropriately can reduce loss of life and harm to the people.
In view of this context of uncertainties and hopes, Caritas’ strategic orientation will focus on linking relief, rehabilitation and development in order to prepare the beneficiaries to move towards development activities
Peace building, social harmony and advocacy
South Sudan has continued to experience widespread inter-ethnic conflicts that have taken both a political and a tribal angle resulting in great animosities among the various ethnic groups in the country. The feeling of exclusion among the communities of various ethnic backgrounds has resulted in armed conflicts thus leading to loss of life and property not to mention displacement. Caritas South Sudan is convinced that peace in an important ingredient
for human development and therefore interventions geared toward reducing conflict must revolve around peacebuilding and building social harmony. This strategic orientation will therefore focus on peace-building initiatives through dialogues and awareness creation on peace and social harmony. Advocacy shall be the overriding approach in this strategic orientation.
Integral Human Development
The continued existence of conflict has forced the majority of the communities especially women and children to be subjected to extreme poverty thus making access to basic services e.g. health, food, water, etc. to be very poor. Such experiences have eroded the communities’ individual self-esteem leaving individuals vulnerable to manipulations and exploitations. Caritas is committed to ensuring that human dignity is restored through deliberate efforts to reduce extreme poverty as well as through efforts to empower communities politically and economically to take an active role in influencing their destiny.
Effective partnership for enhanced resource mobilization for impact of our programs
South Sudan is blessed with numerous donors and supporters who have been engaged in various efforts ranging from humanitarian support to community development. However, most of these organizations work independently of one another and at times duplicating their efforts at the community level. The approaches used by these organizations also differ thus presenting a challenge at the community level. Despite the fact that there is a Ministry that is supposed to coordinate the operations of these partners, little ground has been covered in this area. In spite of this scenario, Caritas acknowledges that it cannot work alone neither does it have all the resources not have the capacity to cover all the areas adequately and effectively. Due to this Caritas is committed to creating a good rapport with all the partners as a way of enhancing sharing and learning from each other. It is also through this partnership that pulling of resources for a worthy cause can happen.
Organizational and institutional strengthening of CSS and Member Organizations
The conditions of war and conflict that have led to the loss of life and displacements have forced CSS and many other organizations to be on emergency mode throughout. This has resulted in most organizations focusing on humanitarian support as a way of saving lives. These conditions have in a way prevented the growth of organizations including CSS. The implementation of this strategy would require a steady and strong organization that would
guarantee the implementation of the planned intervention. Key areas of focus would include skilled and competent staffing, adequate facilities and access to adequate resources. Due to this Caritas is committed to strengthening its organizational and institutional capacity to be in a position to deliver its mandate. In addition to this Caritas shall deliberately build the capacities of its member organizations.