USA awards over $43m for youth empowerment in South Sudan

Juba, South Sudan—The U.S. Embassy in Juba has announced Wednesday, the award of $43.5 million to empower a diverse group of 25,000 skilled and unskilled youth through a Youth Corps Service Model. 

The initiative will run for four years recruiting about 500 youth leaders across South Sudan to be trained as mentors for marginalized youth with supportive activities that expand their access to learning, job training, civic engagement, reproductive health, and social and community cohesion. 

According to the US Embassy in South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Youth Empowerment program will help youth in South Sudan — including girls and young women — gain the knowledge and skills that will enable them to lead healthy, engaged, and productive lives. This activity will build on previous U.S. government investments to enhance the livelihoods of youth across South Sudan.

This approach is grounded in USAID’s Positive Youth Development framework that prioritizes youth-led, youth-serving interventions rooted in the community. The Youth Empowerment Activity will also support 65 local youth organizations with grants, technical training, mentorship, and organizational strengthening.

“In addition to expanding youths’ skills and opportunities, we’re building the capacity of local and community-led organizations. USAID has made it a priority to work more closely with local organizations across South Sudan,” said USAID Mission Director Kate Crawford.

Education Development Center (EDC) Inc. was selected to implement the initiative through a competitive, public solicitation.

Cover photo: Young South Sudanese on a local tourism trip to Fulla Falls in Nimule, Eastern Equatoria State: January 30, 2020 Courtesy of I am Peace Initiative.