They have experienced despair. They have had enough. They want peace and they are willing to work for it. Right now, grassroots women are struggling to bring out the best in themselves, their families, and their communities. They have begun to see that peace is more than the absence of war.
Peace involves activity that promotes understanding and service to the community.
My work with women in Sudanese villages and refugee camps centers on teaching people to trust each other. I try to build relationships, to capitalize on the existing skills of the local people, and to organize and train women to help themselves. Though these women wanted to address the problems in their village, they didn't know where to begin. Yet they had that vital spark of self-determination. Today, the South Sudanese Women Association is setting the grassroots women on fire for change.