YDK Group of Companies of Luka Kuot: A Future South Sudanese Oxfam in the Making
6 min readYDK Group of Companies of Managing Director Luka Kuot Deng: A Future South Sudanese Oxfam in the Making
By David Deng Chapath, Kampala, Uganda
April 19, 2017 (SSB) — One of the things makes us lurk behind or remaining in Third world position or even below is the fact that we do not appreciate the effort of other people. Instead, we view each other as potential enemies and begin working for the downfall of each other.
This kind of imagined existential threat translated into hatred and undermining is the cause of all our predicaments in the least developed countries (LDC) including South Sudan. Viewing each other with hatred and contempt is even worse in South Sudan given the fact that we have already existing line of weaknesses running through our every existence which is tribalism.
In South Sudan, tribalism exists at various levels i.e. ranging from national to family level. Thus, when we see the government of South Sudan being attacked, then we must know that it is not because it has failed but South Sudanese are the ones who have failed to mentally and psychologically appreciate the Government of South Sudan simply because it is headed by Dinka.
The failure to appreciate the Government has led to the failure to get support from majority of citizens who are non-Dinka and because of that, the government fell into crisis of confidence.
When I talk of crisis of confidence I meant that the people have lost confidence because they believe that government has nothing to offer. Hence, the government is in crisis now because of that.
As discussed above, the lack of confidence is not only affecting the government and also not only found among non-Dinka but it is also found among Dinka as they do not support and appreciate each other for what we have done.
Hence, it is the desire to break this culture of ingrained prejudice of which we perceive each other as enemies or weak, which I have now decided to come up and appreciate YDK Group of Companies being managed by Managing director, LUKA KUOT DENG.
Before I explain the important roles played by YDK Group of Companies in South Sudan, I would like to briefly give ground as to why I compare this group of companies with the Oxfam.
Though YDK Group of Companies is not like Oxfam currently, there is likelihood that it will be like Oxfam in future as it has started the way Oxfam Started in 1940s as briefly discussed below.
Therefore, Oxfam is an international confederation of charitable organizations focused on the alleviation of global poverty. Oxfam was founded at 17 Broad Street in Oxford, Oxfordshire, in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief by a group of Quakers, social activists, and Oxford academics; this is now Oxfam Great Britain, still based in Oxford.
The back ground to the formation of Oxfam was that it was formed in support of the National Famine Relief Committee. The Oxfam mission at that time was to persuade the British government to allow food relief through the Allied blockade for the starving citizens of occupied Greece. In fact, Oxfam has four main focuses for its resources, which are:
Economic Justice, which focuses on making agriculture work for farmers and agricultural labourers living in poverty and vulnerable circumstances, fairer trade rules for poor countries, and reducing the impact of climate change and energy shocks.
Another focus for Oxfam are essential Services which focuses on; demanding that national governments fulfil their responsibilities for equitable delivery of good quality health, education, water, and sanitation, supporting civil society organizations and alliances to hold governments accountable for the delivery of these services, and ensuring better policies and more funding from rich countries and international institutions, as well as make sure they honour existing commitments on aid and debt reduction.
Moreover, Oxfam focuses on human rights during the Crisis, as it focuses on improving the ability to deliver better protection and greater assistance, through improving our competencies and capacities, working with and through local organizations, and particularly strengthen the role of women, changing policies and practices of the international humanitarian system to deliver better protection and greater assistance, and working within the framework of human security, with a greater focus on preventing conflict, peace-building, reconciliation and longer-term development.
Finally, Oxfam focuses on ensuring gender Justice which deals with the support of women’s leadership at all levels to achieve greater power in decision-making and greater control over their lives, increasing the number of women receiving an education (two-thirds of all children denied school are girls), to acquire functional literacy skills so they can work to end gender-based violence by changing ideas, attitudes and beliefs of men and women that permit violence against women, and strengthening Oxfam’s own learning and capacities on gender to ensure that gender justice is achieved in all our work.
As seen above, the work of Oxfam resembles YDK Group of Companies, which makes them similar as explained below.
YDK is a group of companies like Oxfam, which makes it effective in serving South Sudanese. In the same way it focuses on humanitarian works as it supplies food and medicines to the army and citizens. This is because it is led by good person who is ready to serve humanity. Luka Kuot Deng is doing very well and such a spirit is what we need if South Sudan to be built and progress in development.
Thus, it is my prayer that the government of South Sudan gives supports to YDK Group so that they develop into stronger and bigger organization to enable it to become another Oxfam like in South Sudan.
In addition, supporting YDK Group of companies in term of finances and morals will help it in achieving development as it will work to improve people’s health and provide more employment. This is because it will act as role model for other indigenous South Sudan NGOs to start offering services to the people, which, will eventually brings development to Uganda.
Finally, what makes YDK Group of Companies effective is because it is managed properly as Managing Director, Mr. Luka Kuot Deng is not corrupt. This is because where there is corruption, there is mismanagement but in the case YDK Group there is high level of accountability and transparency as seen in Oxfam management.
In summary, YDK is can be a future Oxfam of South Sudan as one of its roles is humanitarian. I recommend that the government should YDK Group of communities support in form of financial support.
The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made is the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers (SSB) website. If you want to submit an opinion article or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. SSB do reserve the right to edit material before publication. Please include your full name, email address and the country you are writing from.
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