The social, cultural, economic and political environment in which OCO is acting upon
The social, cultural, economic and political environment of South Sudan is a third-world environment, it is quite uncertain but with the grace and blessing of Almighty God, both realists and optimists do really agree that it is right and just to do the right thing in this environment.
Hence the environment that we are acting upon is still manageable and it is believed and seen that progress is inevitable when human will is secured.
We the OCO members deeply believe that with the current or future situation, we will always be readily optimistic in carrying out our plans, objectives, and projects to achieve the goals we have intended for orphans and other vulnerable children in South Sudan.
The administration of the Orphans Care Organization has envisioned at least establishing three orphanages across the country, one in the Upper Nile region, one in the Equatoria region, and another one in the Bahr el Ghazal region.
The establishment of these orphanages requires extra efforts both locally and internationally otherwise it is not possible. OCO is willingly committed to seeking the funds for this challenge.
OCO is severely faced by this challenge due to its lack of funds. Education as we all know is very important need that human beings should and must have.
As a result, OCO intended objective of providing education to the orphans and other vulnerable children in South Sudan through its own constructed, administered and funded initiatives requires support not only from outside the country but most importantly within the country.
The political and social instability usually affects the short-term objectives of OCO.
Activities such as the provision of genuine protective care, safe shelter, and a family-like environment for orphans and other vulnerable children are not surely possible in areas where conflicts still exist, either national political tension or tribal tension in which lives are lost.
As political and social instability still indicates its existence, OCO like other life-saving organizations still shows its commitment and optimism regarding the implementation of its objectives.
OCO courageously attempts all possible nearest means to provide an adequate diet, clothing, access to safe care, and guidance for the beneficiaries but still runs short of financial capacity to meet these important basic needs of life.
It requires more than financial assistance to meet this challenge which means training of OCO employees such as orphans’ guardians shall be appropriate because it is important to handle people with human ethics in mind.
Communities in South Sudan are of high rates of poverty, lower life opportunities, and stigmatized social status these make it more complex to reduce poverty in any group of the society either orphans or other vulnerable children of South Sudan.
OCO is facing difficulty in finding a sufficient, appropriate, and continuous funding body for its work. It tries its best to mobilize limited resources locally rather than waiting for international funding, however, like other CBOs it becomes inevitable to meet its intended goals as a result it humbly seeks international donors to extend hands in order to achieve its goals.
Mistreatment and exploitation of orphans
South Sudan Orphans are subjected to various mischiefs of life due to the fact that they're hit by economic hardships more than anyone else.
They are sometimes exploited in all forms for different purposes.
They are subjected to child labor, violence, abuse, neglect, and other negativities.
Most of the orphans now in South Sudan are left scattered everywhere with nothing to eat, nothing to sleep on, and no one to take care of them. They roam the streets as street children.
There are no laid down strategies for the betterment of orphans as a result these orphans righteously feel abandoned by their relatives and non-governmental agencies.
It is a terrible situation in which one may shed tears when seeing their vulnerability and suffering.
South Sudan orphans have developed unusual feelings because they’ve been traumatized by wars and economic hardships more than anybody else.
They completely lack the audacity of hope to survive nor hope for a bright future.
The death of their parents has given them emotional distress, they are susceptible to long-term psychological problems that include, depression, anger, anxiety, and other negative feelings.
They feel useless in the communities they are living in and mostly they end up being the source of crimes rather than the source of constructive developmental initiatives of the society.
The establishment of orphanages in South Sudan is actually meant for absolute shouldering of orphans' responsibility to the committed nationalistic and humanistic individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God.
Orphans’ problems are not sufficiently appropriate to be addressed through aids only but also the transformation of orphans into much more productive individuals in the society.
Yulfillment of this approach requires the implementation of the second solution.
To ensure the successful transformation of orphans and other vulnerable children in South Sudan, it is necessary to give them access to education like other children.
This provision of education can be either in form of enrolling them in schools in the responsibility of OCO or providing them with schools and the other requirements that go hand-in-hand with schools.
OCO's complete scheme of addressing orphans and other vulnerable children’s problems includes a feeding program for the weakest and the smallest who are abandoned and have no chance of survival.
It intends to generate what it can locally or internationally to feed this category of children or else the society may unwillingly end up without doing what it is ought to do for itself.
OCO health department carries out its plans of health initiative by mobilizing funds to eradicate these children's unhealthiness.
It is in OCO's plans to address this challenge not only for the promotion of orphans' health but for the promotion of the entire society's health.
OCO promotes this solution, by setting up teams to investigate the causes of daily street children increment in big cities of South Sudan, Wau, Juba, and Malakal and addresses the causes.
Reunification of street children with their parents/relatives is done after these children are first transformed by OCO through its reintegration programs.
OCO is so much committed to providing this solution due because the daily multiplication of the number of street children in South Sudan will surely increase crimes and the production of more vulnerable children in the long run.