Over 600 ex-combatants graduate in Sudan’s Rumbek Article Comments (4) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Manyang Mayom April 8, 2011 (RUMBEK) – South Sudan’s Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program in Rumbek, the capital of Lakes state, presided on Thursday over the graduation of 676 ex-combatants in a ceremony attended by Lakes state government ministers and the United Nation Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and various units of South Sudan army (SPLA). FILE - DDR event in Eastern Equatoria, Sudan (UNMIS) Among the graduates there are 394 females and 282 males. The ex-combatants were trained during the past six months on small scale business and vocational skill work by the DDR program of UNMIS with support from the UN Development Program (UNDP). The students also received the necessary tools help them with agriculture. The DDR program in connection with Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Thursday also distributed 52 ox-ploughs to ex-combatants in Rumbek East County of Lakes state. According to FAO consultation Panuel Ederwa FAO is facing difficulties in buying bulls to do with the ox-ploughs they are giving the beneficiaries of the scheme due an increase in prices. In an auction, a first class bull costs over 2,000 Sudanese pounds and a second class bull 1,000 Sudanese pounds. But second class bulls are not strong enough to cultivate land. This week, FAO bought 13 bulls for ox-plough as well 25 goats to be given to small businesses. The DDR program was established to help soldiers who had fought in Sudan’s two-decade civil war between North and South Sudan, which ended in 2005. As part of the deal the South voted to become independent in January and will fully secede in July this year. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
