SECTORAL AREAS OF INTERVENTION AND PRIORITY PROGRAMS:

Education
Peace building and Conflict mitigation
Food security and Livelihood
Health & Nutrition
Water and Sanitation (WASH)
Shelter & NFI
Protection and GBV

 

OUR PROGRAMS

Education


According to the South Sudan Education Sector Analysis (2016) school coverage rates in South Sudan remain well below the regional average with Gross Enrolment Rates (GER) of 10 per cent at the pre-primary level and 57 per cent at the primary level. The current trend in female enrolment is particularly disconcerting with the Gender Parity Index (GPI) going from 0.75 at primary to 0.57 at the secondary level. According to the 2017 Education Cluster Assessment, 26 per cent of functional schools have been affected by attacks on education during the year with the most commonly reported incidences being theft and looting by armed forces/groups.  In South Sudan, less than 1% of girls complete secondary school and only 10% of teachers are women. Decades of civil war coupled with traditional cultural norms have undermined the role of women in public life and deprived most girls of the opportunity to attend school.

With this kind of uneven equilibrium in boys and girls education, CHARD believes that girls’ attainment and women empowerment will completely not be achieved if the underlying causes for this trend are not urgently addressed. CHARD’s approaches to women and girls education include:

  • Championing against early marriages through advocacy, policy and community sensitization
  • Adult literacy programmes
  • Vocational training support for youths, women and vulnerable communities
  • Girl child education programmes
  • Equipping women and girls with information about their rights and promotion of advocacy among all stakeholders
  • Civic education on issues of good governance

Peace building and Conflict mitigation

Since South Sudan collapsed into civil war in 2013 with widespread insecurity, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions are displaced and in need of humanitarian support. A 2018 study indicated roughly 400,000 South Sudanese have been killed as a result of the breakout of war since 2013, causing 1.7 million people to be internally displaced and 2.5 million people to flee as refugees into neighboring countries. Nearly half the population are severely food insecure and access to basic services continues to severely decline due to conflict and poor governance. South Sudan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman or girl with an estimated 65% of women and girls experiencing physical or sexual exploitation and violence. An estimated 40% of people are traumatized by the recent and historic violence with an estimated 900,000 children needing psychological support. 

Even though a peace agreement was signed in September 2018, many people remembered the conflict relapses in the past after negotiated peace. Some people felt that within months fighting would be back on. However, 2019 turned out to be a relatively peaceful year. Still, peace building needs to be a continuous movement to promote and sustain other long term development initiatives. 

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 and the UN Sustaining Peace resolutions highlight the importance of ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels as well as the substantial role of civil society in sustaining peace. 

CHARD believes that true peace will not come to South Sudan not merely through a top-down, negotiated agreement by political leaders, but rather in an environment where citizens can wield collective power to press for reforms that will foster peace. At the local level, Peace Committees and Peace Clubs need to be further empowered to help communities determine what peace can look like and find multiple pathways to achieving that peace. 

Within this context, our approach to peace building and conflict mitigation is as follows:

  • Working with local communities through addressing the underlying causes of conflicts and building meaningful peace.
  • Organizing regular community dialogues and peace festivals as a means of addressing early signs of conflicts and prevention of conflicts.
  • Extension of psychosocial support.
  • Promotion of inter-community dialogue.
  • Promotion of reconciliation among the communities.
  • Peace forum and conference.
  • Peace education.
  • Peace dialogue community consultation.
  • Dialogue & Negotiation.
  • Mediation & Arbitration.


Food Security and Livelihood


CHARD believes that Food shortage and insecurity in South Sudan could be completely overcome by moving beyond dependency on humanitarian food supplies towards sustainable and improved agriculture practices. When communities have adequate supply of food, they will not be dependent on others and have enough food to eat. Moreover, higher yield of agriculture produce through improved methods leads to improvement in their livelihoods. By selling the surplus, the communities could have steady income that enables them to lead a dignified life. 

With this objective, we are working with local communities to provide them with the tools and resources to build a sustainable future through the following interventions: 

  • Setting up of demonstration plots and training women and youth on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) thereby ensuring enhanced productivity and sustainability.
  • Training for mothers and caregivers of under 5 years children on developing Homestead Vegetable gardens for dietary diversification.
  • Distribution of High Yielding varieties of seeds and tools for improved agricultural yield and productivity.
  • Provide resource constrained small hold farmers with tools and training on using animal ox ploughs, to cultivate wider area in a day with lower labor inputs.
  • Championing formation of farmers’ cooperative societies and savings and credit cooperatives societies as mechanisms for accessing farming inputs and credit.
  • Setting up seed -multiplication groups who have established Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA).
  • Training on post-harvest management techniques to reduce crop loss.
  • Training of farmers in modern agricultural good practices, farming methods and facilitating farmers exchange programmes between South Sudan and Ugandan farmers or other farmers in the region.
  • Provision of emergency agricultural inputs to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable groups.


Health & Nutrition


According to UNICEF’s Food and Nutrition Situation, 860,000 children under five were estimated to be acutely malnourished in 2019.  Within this context, CHARD designed its Nutrition programme to contribute to the improved nutrition status of children, adolescent girls and women in South Sudan by increasing the use of more equitable and better-quality nutrition services.  Following are the highlights of our work in Nutrition sector:  

  • Nutrition education focusing on increasing dietary diversity through mothers/caregiver groups.
  • Training mothers on preparing nutrient dense meals from different crops and animal products widely available in the community.
  • Training to mothers/caregivers on how to prevent the cause of common childhood illness and possible prevention and control mechanism.
  • Train mothers/caregivers on Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN).
  • Developed and distributed simplified and translated Information Education and Communication materials on maternal and young child feeding.
  • Supplementary feeding programs for malnourished children.


Water and Sanitation (WASH)


About 90% of South Sudanese people lack access to clean drinking water and 95% of the population does not have access to sanitation. By improving access to improved drinking water sources and improved sanitation and hygiene we can improve nutritional outcomes and health. Good health in individuals and communities brings more assurance and efficiency in productivity across economic sectors besides contributing to the overall health of the population. 

CHARD is therefore working on projects that integrate sustainable and local innovation to meet the needs of the local communities. Thus we believe that everyone including the most marginalized have a right to safe water, hygiene and sanitation as a basic essential service for improved productivity.

The Water Hygiene and Sanitation activities include:

  • Supply of clean water for household.
  • Sanitation – proper fecal disposal through participatory community sensitization and development approaches including solid waste management, drainage and vector control.
  • Hygiene Promotion – community mobilization, health data monitoring, and Information, Education and Communication (IEC).
  • Training of water user communities and formation of School Health Clubs and work with schools in promotion of Water Hygiene and Sanitation.
  • Conduct social mobilization and community awareness on good hygiene and Sanitation Practices.
  • Rehabilitation and maintenance of water points.
  • Support household water treatment system and storage management.
  • Distributions, management of Emergency WASH Supplies.
  • Construction of sanitation facilities (Institutional latrines and communal latrines).


Shelter & NFI


According to UNOCHA flooding situation in South Sudan, over 360,000 people are in need of ES/NFI response due to 2020 flooding and communal conflict. Our work in this sector includes;

  • Distribution of emergency tents, Blankets, Cooking sets, Plastic sheets, Sleeping Mats, Jerri cans.
  • Using Craftsmen/Women to train other community members in specially areas with palm trees on mat weaving as long-term solutions.


Protection and GBV


Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most serious threats to the protection and wellbeing of children and women in South Sudan. Local communities consistently cite sexual violence as the greatest protection concern for women and girls. According to UNICEF briefing note, 2019: almost 65 per cent of women and girls have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, and some 51 per cent have suffered intimate partner violence (IPV). Some 33 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence from a non-partner, primarily during attacks or raids. The majority of girls and women experience sexual violence for the first time under the age of 18. Children comprise around 25 per cent of all reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence, though there are concerns numbers may be much higher.

Tackling violence against women and girls is critical to achieving sustainable peace in South Sudan. Therefore, CHARD continues to focus on GBV risk mitigation and prevention efforts across all its programmes and through capacity building and implementing action plans. Some of the recent programmes in this area are aimed at reducing domestic violence and conflict related violence against women and children in the communities. These include:

  • Creating awareness on Children rights.
  • Psychosocial counselling.
  • Promoting Child rights.
  • Girl Child Education.
  • Child Soldiers demobilization.
  • Awareness on Child abuse.
  • Education.
  • Land mine awareness.
  • Local crime awareness.
  • Advocacy on mental support.

 

CHARD CORE VALUES

The organization and its members shall operate and abide by the following core values
1. MUTUAL RESPECT, requiring them to recognize the innate worth of all people and the value of diversity;
2. EQUITY AND JUSTICE, requiring them to team work to ensure equal opportunity for everyone, irrespective of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, HIV status, colour, class, ethnicity, disability, location or religion;
3. HONESTY AND TRANSPARENCY, being accountable at all levels for the effectiveness of their actions and open in their judgments and communications with others;
4. SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR, POWERLESS AND EXCLUDED, shall be the only bias in their commitment to fight against poverty;
5. COURAGE OF CONVICTION, requiring them to be creative and radical, bold and innovative – without fear of failure- in pursuit of making the greatest possible impact on the cause of poverty;
6. INDEPENDENCE & CONFIDENTIALITY, from any religious or party-political affiliation;
7. HUMILITY, in their presentation and behavior, recognizing that they are part of a wider alliance against poverty.

OUR PRINCIPLES

The principles of CHARD shall be:
I. Accountability: Combining responsibilities with rights so that those who make decisions are also responsible for them
II. Respecting Diversity: Taking into account national and regional contexts and the individual natures and characteristics of members.
III. Mutual Respect for decision-making at each level: All locations of defined responsibilities between the national and the states organizations as described in and guaranteed by, this constitution and its regulations, recognizing the self-governing nature of members, while respecting the appropriateness of national governance and action where this is in the collective interest.
IV. Significant of autonomous decision-making at each level of the organization: Recognizing the strength and legitimacy of the national governance lies in its ability to act decisively according to the needs and interests of the larger organization, whilst ensuring that decision-making process lie as closely as possible to those affected by decisions.
V. The principle of subsidiary: Ensuring that decision-making power should raise as closely as possible to those its affects, while preventing unilateral decisions that could adversely affect other members in/or the organization.
VI. Checks and balances: A system of power sharing through the devolution of authority and rights of members.
VII. Primary Strategic unit: The country unit is the primary strategic unit and national territory and autonomy are respected

GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OF CHARD

The highest governing body of the CHARD is the Board of Directors (BOD) composed of five (5) members and includes: Chairperson, D/Chairperson, Secretary General and two members. It is to ensure the implementation of the objectives and functions of the organization by Executive committee. It’s also responsible for policy formulation as well as strategic fundraising for the organization.

The Executive Director is the head of the Executive committee of this organization that is responsible for the implementation of the programs and the daily management of the activities.

Management Team/ Administration
CHARD have competent staffs from various backgrounds ranging from Social work and Social Administration, Finance, Education, Agriculture and Public Health. They will be also assisted by external consultants from various consulting partners. With this team, therefore, CHARD will be capable of implementing programmes geared towards meeting its mission, vision and objective