Dependable: Adam Omut cares about the people in his community
Many staff have shared experiences with the people they serve
Leizl Eykelhof
Staff member Adam Omut was a child soldier during South Sudan’s fight for independence. When his brother was shot, his mother called him aside and told him to leave the battlefield. He fled for Uganda where he completed his schooling. But, at home the battles continued, even after South Sudan became its own country in 2011.
Then, in 2013 Adam saw his best friend being killed in Bor. The memory still brings him to tears. He found solace in gardening and helping others. Adam worked for the local government before joining ForAfrika in 2017 as a Food Security and Livelihoods assistant.
He assists mothers, whose children are being treated at the malnutrition clinic in Pibor, to grow their own vegetables along the river banks in the dry season (from December to March). The gardens have been a great success and have enabled women to sell their “greens” at the local market frequented by the United Nations peacekeeping troops.
In the rainy season, however, Pibor becomes a flooded, muddy place and Adam switches roles to transporter — he once had to walk 8km in waist-high flood waters to deliver medicine and collect reports: “It is a commitment, this work,” he says shrugging his shoulders with a huge smile, “sometimes boats take too long.”
At ForAfrika we pride ourselves on our close connections to the communities we work in. Most of our staff are from the same villages, they know the situation on the ground and many have been in the same situation as those they serve. They continue to live there, sharing in their people’s pain – or gain.
