Hope Ofiriha’s programs in remote Magwi County, South Sudan transform the lives of the area’s poorest girls and women through life-saving healthcare, education, and microcredit opportunities.
The challenge(s) that Hope Ofiriha is addressing:
Many of the girls and women in Magwi County, South Sudan are refugees or have been displaced by half a century of civil war in the region. Now, as conflict with Sudan over oil-rich border regions continues and an ongoing influx of refugees from the North strains South Sudan’s resources, more than half of the country’s population faces a severe shortage of food.
Moreover, widespread poverty and a lack of development and infrastructure deprive many children in the new nation of the chance for any form of education – indeed, only 37% of people over the age of 6 in South Sudan have ever been to school, and 84% of women above the age of 15 are illiterate.
Girls and women also face health risks such as malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and respiratory infection, owing largely to a lack of access to clean water, proper sanitation, and adequate health services. A mere 30% of the population actually has access to healthcare. Maternal mortality rates in the country are astronomically high: a girl born in this region is three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than to finish primary school.
W4’s field partner Hope Ofiriha intervenes in Magwi County’s remote villages to reverse these trends, keeping girls and war orphans in school, running health and maternity clinics, and helping impoverished women to earn sustainable revenue through the creation of their own small businesses.
You can be a changemaker!
Your gift helps South Sudan’s girls and women to experience peace after years of violent conflict, and gives them a chance to escape poverty. Even the smallest donation can protect a girl from life-threatening yet easily preventable diseases and help ensure that, as a woman, she doesn’t have to risk her own life in the process of giving life. The most modest gift will help to send a girl to school, which will protect her from exploitation and violence and provide her with the skills necessary to earn a living, to feed her family and to give her own children the chance of an education.
You can also support Hope Ofiriha’s work by spreading the word about its vital initiatives—all aimed at putting an end to illiteracy, poverty, and poor health among girls and women in South Sudan!
The difference you can make: the impact of your giving
By helping to provide girls and women in South Sudan with proper health services, quality education, and income-generating opportunities, you enable them to regain control over their lives and futures and to improve their own quality of life as empowered individuals.
Relevant Country Data:
Capital: Juba
Population: 8,260,000
GDP per capita: $1,546
Population living below national poverty line: 51%
Adult literacy rate, both sexes (aged 15 and above): 27%
Infant mortality rate (probability of dying between birth and age 1 per 1000 live births): 72
Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per 100,000 live births): 2,054
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years
