Written by Esperanza Escorza Lalinde
Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Programme Manager, World Vision Ireland
When you arrive in Upper Nile, you quickly learn that nothing here exists in isolation.
A teacher’s strike traces back to conflict across the border in Sudan, where the war has sharply reduced oil exports. Children drinking water from the river speaks to systems stretched to breaking point. A women’s safe space standing strong, despite termites, theft and displacement, tells a story of resilience shaped by years of instability and unwavering community resolve.
In February, I travelled with World Vision South Sudan colleagues to Melut County as part of a monitoring visit to EMPOWER!, an Irish Aid‑funded project supporting education, protection and women’s empowerment in one of South Sudan’s most fragile regions. It was a chance to listen, to learn and to understand how communities are navigating yet another year of uncertainty, often with fewer resources, fewer partners and greater need.
Holding on as the ground shifts
Upper Nile has faced wave after wave of crisis: conflict, flooding, displacement and, most recently, severe global funding cuts. In Melut County alone, schools are overflowing, health facilities are closing, and families who once farmed now rely on river water that often makes their children sick.
And yet, what stood out wasn’t only the scale of need, it was the determination of people to keep going.
At the County Education Office in Melut, children gathered to welcome us, proudly sharing their favourite school subjects and their hopes for the future. Many spoke about the importance of education, even as their schools were closed due to a teachers’ strike. There was laughter, applause and an unmistakable sense that learning still mattered, perhaps now more than ever.
Local officials repeatedly stressed how vital World Vision’s continued presence has been, particularly as other organisations have had to withdraw. Support with school materials, teacher incentives and access to water has meant that, in some cases, schools could function at all. But this support cannot replace a functioning public system, only help hold the line while that system struggles to recover.
The strain is evident. Most teachers work without pay. Classrooms lack desks and latrines. Children arrive at school having waded through floodwater or walked long distances without breakfast. These challenges redefine what it takes to sustain education.
Water changes everything
At Al‑Salaam Primary School, we visited a water point installed through EMPOWER! in 2025. Before this water point was built, children drank directly from the river. Teachers told us of frequent illnesses, students missing lessons and parents worrying constantly about waterborne disease. Now, even with repairs needed, the difference is tangible. Children no longer have to leave school grounds to find water. Time is saved. Health risks are reduced. Dignity, slowly, is restored.
Water access came up again and again, in schools, women’s centres and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. In Dingtoma 2 camp, families still rely entirely on river water. There is no water point, no clinic and no food assistance. The health centre closed following funding cuts last year. Women told us plainly: without clean water, everything else becomes harder.
Where women gather, change takes root
Some of the most powerful moments of the visit took place in women and girls’ safe spaces, places that exist not just to deliver services, but to rebuild confidence, trust and solidarity.
In New Paloch, women welcomed us with songs and dancing and shared food. The Women and Girls’ Safe Space sits opposite a Child Friendly Space, allowing mothers to bring their children somewhere safe while they take part in literacy classes, skills training or “tea talks”, informal sessions where women can share worries and find support.
Several women told us how income‑generating activities and savings groups had allowed them to pay school costs, cover medical bills and reduce tensions at home. One woman now runs a tailoring business from her house, supporting seven children while her husband works away. Another, just 23, had received a sewing machine after completing training and was earning an income at the local market.
What stayed with me was not just the economic impact but the dignity. Again and again, women spoke about reduced tensions at home, shared decision‑making and fewer incidents of violence - practical outcomes that rarely appear in charts, but shape daily life.
These spaces are not without challenges. In Dingtoma, theft and lack of fencing have undermined participation. Continuous displacement makes sustaining groups difficult. Where people are forced to move again and again, even communal spaces become vulnerable. Survival, understandably, comes first.
Children finding safety amid uncertainty
In Child Friendly Spaces across Melut and New Paloch, children sang, played football and crowded around drawings taped to iron‑sheet walls. Depending on the site, between 150 and 300 children pass through these spaces each day.
For children who have experienced displacement, loss and disruption, these spaces offer routine and safety in a context where very little feels stable. Field staff told us about the difficulty of maintaining materials and keeping gates locked. Still, they show up each morning.
In Upper Nile, movement is constant. Families arrive from conflict‑affected counties. Others are displaced yet again by flooding. This makes continuity hard, but it also makes these spaces all the more essential.
Staying, when staying matters most
Throughout the visit, one thing was clear: World Vision’s long‑term presence matters.
Community members spoke openly about organisations leaving as funding dried up. Government officials emphasised the importance of partners who stay engaged, who adapt programming and who work alongside local systems rather than around them.
Irish Aid’s flexible, multi‑year funding has enabled EMPOWER! to respond to changing needs, whether building water points, sustaining women’s networks or supporting schools through crisis after crisis. That kind of partnership is increasingly rare and deeply felt on the ground.
Upper Nile is not currently a priority area for many global actors. But for the families living here, nearly all of whom need assistance, it cannot be left behind.
As we left Melut, the questions stayed with me: How do communities keep going when resources shrink but needs grow? How do women protect hard‑won gains amid constant disruption? How do children hold on to their right to learn?
There are no simple answers. But there is one truth that stands out clearly: in places like Upper Nile, presence is power. And choosing to stay, to listen, to adapt and to stand with communities, is vital.