Thai engineers save South Sudan babies
“The bridge is far more important
than it looks,” said Andelin Lulu, a community leader in Wako. “It’s the only
link between us and supplies from Juba. Without it, we will have no medical and
humanitarian relief or business supplies.”
The bridge was repaired by Thai
engineers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in partnership
with the World Food Programme. The work is just one part of a much bigger road
rehabilitation project being carried out by the Thai contingent across the
Lakes region as part of their role to facilitate the safe delivery of
humanitarian aid and to help build peace.
“We have taken responsibility for
working on selected roads that we call main supply routes, and this is just one
of them,” said Kwame Dwamena Aboagye, head of the UNMISS field office in
Rumbek. “Every year, after the rainy season, we repair these roads for
government and commercial usage as well as for humanitarian agencies that use
it to deliver all kinds of support to the South Sudanese people.”
Local businessman John Mandekere
said the bridge repair will enable him to travel to buy and sell merchandise
much more easily.
“When the road was bad, we could
spend five days on a single return journey to Rumbek. This made transportation
costs higher and consequently forced us to sell our merchandise at high prices
and people couldn’t buy them because they are poor. Now with the repaired road,
you can go to Rumbek in the morning and come back the same day,” he said.
For Andelin Lulu, access to
health services is another challenge that the bridge repair has helped to
solve.
“Women have been losing their
children during the birthing process because the only health center we have is
miles away in Wulu. Now we can reach the medical center more quickly, even when
travelling on a boda boda (motorcycle).”
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