AFRICANEWS
Kenya / SudanEasing survival inexileWomenby Brian Adeba
Once upon a time when the Sudanese civil war was at its height,Kenya hosted no Sudanese refugees in its refugees camps. But then in 1991the Marxist regime of Megistu Haille Mariam in neighbouring Ethiopia was overthrown by the Tigray People's Liberation Front(TPLF).And then everything changed overnight. Thousands of Sudanese refugees trekked to refugee camps in Kenya, fearing reprisals from the new authoritieswho were already accusing the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA)of having sided with the overthrown Megistu regime. Among the women exiles who managed to make it to Nairobi, were those who sought to ease their survival by forming theSudanese Women Association in Nairobi(SWAN) in 1992. Starting on asocial network of the community who had arrived in exile inthe 80's,itbegan with23 women as members and six years later, theassociationhas grown into one of over 476 members. According to SWAN chairperson Dr. Pauline Riak, it aims at empowering Sudanese women economically, socially and politically through education and skill training. The first task it set on after inception was the making of water filters, which they then sold to the other interested NGO's. Later it also set up a bureau to act as a clearing house forjobs, wherebyNGO's which want women to work in their projects in Southern Sudancan get contacts and qualified personnel. But in these liaisons with the other groups, according to Dr. Riakthe association has run into problems with those organizationsset to exploit them. This makes herquip,"It is our country , why should we be paid less". Other projects thatSWANruns are an English language class for Sudanese women of whom 25 percent are illiterate and another 30 percemt are semi illiterate. And for those who are able to join the university it organises them to be sent to theBritish Council for refresher course in the English language. It also runsnutrition seminars and regular sessions on the Aids scourge. Asmost of the members are refugees, SWAN also loans moneyto some who wantto establish small businesses. Recentlythe group, in liaison with the Netherlands embassy, drafted a document which embodies the aspirations of all Sudanese women, which according to Dr Riak will seek to empower them, for she believes the marginalisation of women is an affront to God. Perhaps the most significant aspect of SWAN is that it has managed to transcend the political and religiousdividesso prevalentback in their homeland. " Our aim is to unite all Sudanese women in Kenya , to identify and prioritise their needs and formulate their strategies to solve them in a dignified manner", saysDr Riak. By 1992 most of the women were not on speaking terms after there had emergedsplits in the SPLA the previous year. Either the women were supporters of the SPLA proper or the dissident faction led by Dr Riak Machar and Dr Lam Akol, theSouth Sudan Independence Movement( SSIM). But SWANmanaged to override these cleavages and interestingly among its founder members is Mrs.Rebecca Kwachi, the wife of Dr Akol. And currently the organisation is an odd conglomeration of both highly educated and illiterate women. Unlike the autocraticway some men run their affairs in Sudan this association, according to the chairperson isrun on a democratic manner, allowing the members the opportunityto run for the organisation's positions but also have a say on how it is run.
| CONTENTS | AFRICANEWS HOMEPAGE |
USAGE/ACKNOWLED Contents can be freely reproduced with acknowledgements. The by-line should read: author/AFRICANEWS. Send a copy of the reproduced article to AFRICANEWS.
AFRICANEWS - Koinonia Media Centre, P.O. Box 8034, Nairobi, Kenya
|