From Idleness to Independence: How RSRTF's Vocational Training is Transforming Youth in Greater Tonj

For years, young people in Wanh-alel boma, Tonj South, have stood at the crossroads of conflict and hopelessness. In a region marred by intercommunal violence and climatic shocks, youth often found themselves with few opportunities and many risks. Akot Yelek Akech was one of them.

“I was just staying in Wanh-alel doing nothing,” Akot recalls. With few livelihood options and growing insecurity, the risk of being drawn into violence was high.

Akot in his shop in Manyata market in Tonj town. Photo: Michael Taban/TOCH

Like many others, Akot lived in one of the 22 conflict hotspots identified by the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization and Resilience in South Sudan (RSRTF) under the Kong Koc Area-Based Programme (ABP)—a region where youth, particularly idle young men, have historically been mobilised into cycles of revenge attacks and cattle raiding.

But Akot’s life took a dramatic turn when community leaders, including Payam administrators and chiefs, nominated him for a new opportunity: a three-month technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programme in Warrap town.

“One day, our chief came and told me I was selected to go for training. I was surprised,” he says.

The Kong Koc ABP covering Tonj South, Tonj North, and Tonj East counties, is a multi-partner initiative aimed at enhancing stability, resilience, and peace in conflict-affected areas.

Led by the World Food Programme (WFP), the consortium brought together key partners including UNMISS, UNDP, Peace Canal (PC), The Organization for Children Harmony (TOCH), and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

Through coordinated efforts, the ABP addresses urgent reconciliation needs while promoting long-term stabilisation, community cohesion, resilience and sustainable development in the Tonj region.

From October to December 2023, 90 at-risk youth were identified and enrolled in the Kong Koc ABP’s Resilience Pillar initiative, aimed at equipping vulnerable young people with marketable skills and a pathway away from violence.

The training conducted by TOCH covered four core skills: catering and bakery, beauty and salon services, tailoring, and masonry/brick making. Akot chose tailoring.

Participants at the Kong Koc TVET center in Warrap town were deeply engaged in a tailoring class, refining their skills in garment-making. Image: Michael Taban/TOCH

Over the next three months, he mastered practical skills such as fabric cutting, sewing, and machine repair, alongside essential life skills in client management, business planning, and social cohesion. Peacebuilding and conflict resolution were also woven into the curriculum, aligning with RSRTF’s goal of creating peace dividends through livelihoods.

In March 2024, Akot graduated and received a start-up kit and a cash grant of 300,000 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP). With his new sewing machine and accessories, he rented a small space in Manyata market in Tonj town, launching his own tailoring business.

Today, he designs and repairs clothes for a wide range of clients, earning between 10,000 to 15,000 SSP per week—an income he hopes will grow as his clientele expands.

“I really believe I am a lucky person because I did not have hope for such an opportunity,” says Akot. His story is not unique.

Several of his peers, particularly those trained in masonry, have been linked to jobs and apprenticeships through market linkage activities supported by RSRTF partner ADRA. Others, like Akot, are already contributing to their local economies by launching micro-enterprises.

For decades, Greater Tonj has endured layers of hardship—conflict, displacement, floods, and droughts. Idle youth have often become tools of revenge and cattle-related violence, driven by a lack of alternatives. Recognizing this, the RSRTF’s Kong Koc ABP designed its programming to focus on the root causes of instability, especially among high-risk youth populations in cattle camps and volatile border areas.

A section of the TVET graduates during the center’s first graduation ceremony on 26 April 2024 in Warrap town, Tonj North County. Image: Asha OMAR/WFP.

The inclusion of peace education in the vocational curriculum was deliberate. Participants were encouraged not just to learn, but to cascade their knowledge to peers, building a ripple effect of transformation.

According to a recent RSRTF outcome monitoring exercise, interest in joining TVET programmes has grown significantly since the intervention began—an indicator of shifting mindsets and expanding hope.

Akot is one of many proving that with the right support, even the most vulnerable youth can become agents of peace and productivity. His sewing machine isn’t just a tool for income—it’s a symbol of a future built not on conflict, but on craft, courage, and community. The UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization and Resilience in South Sudan (RSRTF) is a multi-partner initiative supporting community-driven peacebuilding and recovery in South Sudan’s most fragile regions. Launched in 2018, RSRTF brings together the political reach of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with the operational strengths of UN agencies and NGOs. It is generously supported by contributing partners including Canada, European Union, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and South Korea—whose support enables locally led solutions to conflict, displacement, and instability.