Sebbits’s Journey through conflict, loss and hope

By Victor Ngbapai | Child Protection officer | World Vision South Sudan

For a child that lived almost his whole life in an internally displaced persons’ camp, a day carried more weight than just hours. It meant more battles to fight and the price to live became hard work. Life was like a battlefield where survival was deemed for the fittest.

Every new day seemed like punishment. That is the story of fourteen-year-old Sebbit Dak Rik who got exposed to child labour at an early age of eleven. It is a reminder to us that every child has a name, a story and a dream. Sebbit and his mother fled for safety to Bor IDP camp formerly known as Bor POC during the 2013 crisis which was a tribal conflict (war). A lot of lives were lost during this period. He lived with his mother until she passed away in 2022 from a disease. Sebbit was only 11 at the time.

That was the beginning of hardship for him. He started living with his aunt. Unfortunately, she had no stable means of income and has four children of her own. They could go for a day or two without a meal. His new care giver lived in a house that was in a dilapidated condition. The house would be filled with water each time it rains. She had to walk four hours a day carrying people’s charcoal only to be given 10,000SSP which can hardly afford a decent meal. Sebbit had to drop out of school in P.3 in 2022 when he was eleven years old. He resorted to working in the market. He would work for 15 hours straight (from 5:00am-8:00pm) every day collecting and selling empty bottles as well as polishing people’s shoes.

He became an adult at a young age and stopped living like a child. To him, school felt like a luxury that he couldn’t afford. Sebbit forgot what living like a child felt like.  He worked in the market like his life depended on it. Distress and tears became daily visitors to Sebbit. He knew no peace both at home and in the market where he works. He couldn’t even make friends.

During an awareness session about child protection in Bor IDP by a SCI staff, a few community members and the CBCPN reported the situation of Sebbit to the SCI staff. Immediate action was taken and the case worker visited Sebbit’s family to conduct an initial assessment with consent from both Sebbit and his caregiver.  A comprehensive assessment was done afterwards, and a holistic case plan was developed by both Sebbit and his caregiver with guidance from the SCI case worker. The case plan had psychosocial support, engagement of care giver in parenting sessions, SCI linking Sebbit to a school and providing of scholastic materials, provision of cash for IGA to his caregiver, renovation of their shelter. His care giver was engaged in positive parenting sessions. Sebbit was supported with scholastic materials and SCI registered him in a school. They were also given plastic sheets for renovation of their house. He was introduced to the child-friendly space for non-focused psychosocial support, and his caregiver received cash for IGA to improve their well-being and also cater for school fees. The case was successfully closed after meeting all the set goals in the case plan. However, there is ongoing monitoring by the case worker tracking their resilience

“Sebbit looked so young, strained, tired eyes and carrying a burden that was too heavy for his age. His story reminds me of the importance of my work. This was deeper than just case management, it was restoration of a child’s dignity, sense of belongIn 2022, World Vision launched the Joining Forces for Food Security and Child Protection in Emergencies (JF FS&CPiE) Project in Mangalla, which integrates child protection with Food Security and focuses on building strong community structures in South Sudan.

Sebbit was finally able to resume school, he received scholastic materials. He stopped working in the market and received psycho-social support by participating in children’s activities in the CFS and started living his life to the fullest. He made new friends.

“When my mother died, I thought that was the end of my life and education. I lost all hope. Save the Children gave me back my childhood. “I am happy that I am back in school now. I want to study hard and become a humanitarian worker so that I can help children going through the same situation that I faced “, says Sebbit.

His caregiver started a charcoal business; she is now fully able to cater for Sebbit and her children. She now understands positive parenting and knows it is wrong for children to be involved in child labour. Their house is now renovated. They are no longer exposed to danger and diseases due to the condition of their house.

“You know, Sebbit came to stay with me when I was struggling, I felt so helpless when he was working in the market. However, we finally felt seen when the Save the Children’s caseworker visited our home. I learnt a lot during the parenting sessions. “I set up a business using the money I was given and now I am able to look after Sebbit and my other children.”