As the women of the Bongo tribe in the Aguka district of Tonj County have been urging a marketplace for years, their wishes have been granted with a brand new building
Tonj Governor Matthew Mathiang Magordit showed appreciation to the mission for the projects and promised to work harder to ensure that the communities continued to develop.
Mary Michael, a honey and vegetable farmer from the community, said that the market will help her and many others improve their economic situation by supplementing their disposable incomes.
Sarah Kamsin, another community member, added that the facility would help boost local trade. “The marketplace will allow us to bring in goods like tomatoes, okra, cassava, and greens,” she explained.
The head of the peacekeeping mission’s field office in Kuajok, Anastasie Nyirigira Mukangarambe, expressed her satisfaction and noted, “They’re a great step toward reducing the financial burdens of the local government.”
The funding made it possible to drill two boreholes in Chuei-chok Payam in Mayang Nogk County, Tonj.
“Before, there had been many complaints about having to travel long distances to access potable water,” Mukangarambe said. “These two new water points serve not only to promote the well-being of the community but also to help prevent conflict through creating stability.”
“The primary concern of this administration now is to work with UNMISS and other partners so that the cycle of cattle raids and revenge attacks in Tonj comes to an end and peace and stability can flourish,” Mathiang Magordit said.
The projects were implemented in partnership with a local NGO, the Community Initiative Development Agency, at a cost of US$77,014.
