Renk-Upper Nile- Fleeing from war, Angelina Yowin Abwol Deng took a dangerous journey to South Sudan. The 55-year-old left her home in Fit-Hab-Khartoum and escaped empty-handed through Kordofan to get to safety. Now, she is working to heal from this experience with the help from a UNFPA-funded gender-based violence response center.
I was exhausted the entire trip, I left everything in my house in Khartoum, I came in April, I was traumatized, a mere mention of Khartoum sends shivers in my spine, but I am healing, thanks to the group members here at the GBV response center, we laugh and joke counsel ourselves.
In Renk, the gender-based violence response center supports women and girls like Angelina who have fled Khartoum because of war. Through income-generating activities such as the knitting of tablecloths, bead making, and bedsheet weaving, they are creating new lives for themselves and building a supportive community of women.
We have Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk, but we do not view each other through a tribal lens, we all share the same trials and tribulations, when we gather here at the center, we discuss issues affecting us, talk about violence and family planning, and look for a common solution. Thanks to Hope Restoration for providing us with this space, when we return to our respective homes, we are at ease” Tereza John, another returnee explains.
