The Turkey government, through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) on Wednesday, donated farming tools to Sudanese refugees and the host community in the Jamjang area of the Ruweng Administrative Area.

The donated tools include hoes, rakes, sickles, and axes, among others, which will benefit 500 refugee farmers.

As of  October 2022, there are over 120,000 refugees in Jamjang County.  

Addressing journalists after the donation, Ambassador of Turkey to South Sudan Erdem Mutaf said the donation comes at a time when they had identified the need for farming tools for the refugees and the host community.   

He revealed that their assistance to South Sudan is not only limited to refugees but also to build the capacity of South Sudanese in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

“During our visit in July, we witnessed the situation in Ruweng Administrative Area. We saw that the agriculture workers are in dire need of some equipment, and we decided to mobilize resources to donate some agricultural tools to these people,” Mutaf said.

“Turkish Embassy assistance is not limited to the refugee community. We are supporting many parts of society. We are doing capacity building assistance, relief and humanitarian with our cooperation with the UNHCR,” he added.

For his part, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to South Sudan, Jamal Arafat, appreciated the support, saying the Turkish Embassy has always supported South Sudanese and refugees in times of need. 

“Every time you see something, you act, whether it is to provide education, whether it is another assistance for flood affected victims, and now in this case, when we were with Ambassador Mutaf in Jamjang, he witnessed a very hopeful scene which was the generous grant of land by the government of South Sudan to the hosts and refugees,” Arafat said.

Meanwhile, Dut Akol Kuol, Director General for Protection in the Commission for Refugee Affairs, said the donation of the tools will improve the livelihood of the refugees.

“This is a great support to the refugees, it will change their lives, and it will contribute to the livelihood activities that the refugees are currently doing,” he said.