On Wednesday, the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), in partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), distributed 9 laptop computers to its state branch offices across South Sudan, excluding Western Equatoria State.
UJOSS President Oyet Patrick Charles explained that they had allocated funds for computers to the Western Equatoria State office, as it already possessed devices donated by UN agencies. “It was not necessary to provide them with additional computers,” he stated, adding that they informed NPA of this decision.
These laptops will support official tasks in each branch office, facilitating the sharing of media reports and landscape analyses, according to UJOSS leadership.
During the computer handover, Oyet highlighted ongoing challenges in securing funds for media development from donors. He stated, “Our biggest challenge is the issue of getting money from the donors. You know when you come into the office, it takes some time for some partners to trust you, for the past one-year no one trusts you, people are trying to understand you, they want to see your programs and how you do your things.”
He emphasized the importance of support for state offices, despite some institutions overlooking their significance. “We are very keen on having the offices of the states functioning, and that is why we are very keen when opportunities arise to ensure that people from the states are included,” he concluded.
The union leader also announced the upcoming team that will travel to China in July for a media seminar. “I am happy to say that the next visit to China in July will be for James Opiny, and if more opportunities arise, we will continue to distribute them. Last year, we visited Japan with Daniel Mareng, and we will continue to select one or two people from the states if more opportunities come,” Oyet further assured.
Majak Daniel Kuany, UJOSS Secretary-General, expressed gratitude to the NPA for their support. “We have had a partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid, which has been supporting us. They have been a good partner that we first approached when we came in as a new executive for the union,” he said.
Kuany clarified, “We have procured 9 computers for all the states except for Western Equatoria, who requested theirs in the form of money because they wanted to use part of the funds for celebrating World Press Freedom. That’s why there are nine computers.”
Buga Alex Yusto, a UJOSS Coordinator based in Yei, Central Equatoria State, emphasized the significance of the computers in facilitating their work. “We, as coordinators across the 10 states, are very privileged to receive the laptops. These laptops belong to the state offices, not individuals. My appeal is that we should use them as public tools to facilitate our work.”
Buga added, “We have been using our phones or other people’s computers to share information. The work we do involves issues of intimidation and security, so it is important to have our own gadgets to avoid leaking information.”
In the next phase of the project, UJOSS plans to send more computers to the recently formed offices in the three administrative areas of South Sudan.