Students in Torit Empowered by UNMISS Presentations
When it comes to building the future of South Sudan, helping young people grow, learn and develop is vital as they are the future leaders of this conflict-afflicted country.
That is why the United Nations Mission in South Sudan is engaging closely with schools in Torit, in eastern Equatoria, to provide interactive presentations about the work that the Mission is doing to protect civilians and build durable peace.
Hundreds of students came together to hear presentations about the UNMISS mandate, the importance of human rights, gender issues, child protection as well as the contribution being made by individual Troop Contributing Countries to the UN in South Sudan. The students were particularly interested in learning about particular countries, such as Rwanda and Sweden, directly from military and police officers from those countries.
The students actively participated in the presentations, raising many questions about UNMISS’ activities as well as the backgrounds of the thousands of national and international staff working for the Mission.
Following the presentations, students said they felt empowered and enriched, having gained knowledge on a range of key issues and a deeper understanding of global perspectives by learning about how other countries operate.
Rita Remij, a student from Dr. John Garang Memorial Secondary School, said that students felt empowered to broaden their horizons.
“You have empowered us a lot and we have learned a lot a lot from you,” she said. “I have learned many things which I have never come across and the most interesting part to me was about learning about different countries, especially Rwanda.”
Students from different schools said they also felt a sense of stronger sense of community and social cohesion in learning together rather than as rival schools competing against each other.
UNMISS Torit Public Information Officer, Leni Kinzli, emphasized the sense of community within the UN organization as well as its diverse and cooperative nature.
“The United Nations is all about unity in diversity. It’s about learning from other cultures,” she said. “It’s about learning from each other so we can cooperate and work together and build a better world for every one that is fair for each and every person.”