life skill training is a key tool for women empowerment to reduce gender income inequalities,in locations of Pagarau,Adior,Malek,Nyang,Billing,lekakudu in Yirol East,Lakes state women in numbers of 30 in 4 groups for each location are being trained in craft making,weaving baskets,beading,calabash designing, knitting for life-skills by TOCH SOUTH SUDAN in partnership with Cafod and Trocaire in Partnership(CTP) through Community Care and Psycho social support project

 Stronger women build stronger nations and families,here is a  story of courage and hard work from Ding Lualdit of how the life skill training is changing her life

DING LUALDIT
weaving basket at her home

My name is Ding Lualdit,am a member of Abactiim group ,Butic village in pagarau,i learnt the skill of weaving basket through the life skill training given to us by TOCH,this skill has change my life,am now doing things that i thought i can never do in my life

Am now supporting my family because i sell the baskets i make at 3000 SSP each and use the money to buy basic needs like food and clothes for my family, i support my children in school by buying for them scholastic materials like books and uniforms

We  have enough to eat at home now,i used to pound sorghum to make flour for “asida and kisira” for the family because i didn’t have money for taking the sorghum grain to the grinding mill but now i have money for grinding and i often buy  chicken to complement the diet  for my children at home

I am no longer poor,i joined the Village Loan Saving Group and am saving the money i make out of selling the  baskets am making ,i was able to buy goats from my savings and now am focusing on making more baskets to do more savings in-order to buy cows in the near future

The life-skill training  has given me financial freedom,i didn’t know i could ever make money like this and be able to save to the extent of  buying assets ,i always thought getting money is very hard and saving was only for people working in “big places” but am now saving even when am not working in a “big place”

My target is to work hard to establish a craft center in Yirol town where i can train other women to learn making baskets and get a big market to be able to get  orders for my crafts even up to Juba

DING LUALDIT weaving basket at her home