INTERVIEW TO…Rejoice, midwife in South Sudan

When did you start working with COSV and how you got there?

I started in February 2013, after responding to a vacancy that COSV had published in Juba.

What does it mean for you to work with an NGO? How is your involvement in an international NGOs perceived within your social context?

Working for COSV is offering me the opportunity to give support to the people of my country, perhaps in a more concrete and direct way than it would be if I worked in a private company or for the government. My family is happy with the work I do, and, working in a place far from home,  I can avoid pressures (such as requests for money) which often occur from people of the extended family to a relative who has a steady income.

What is the impact of what you are doing?

The community I serve proves to appreciate my work, because people receive important information on pregnancy and the support to mothers, and because my job sometimes helps to save lives, and also because I am one of their compatriot.

Tell us about a meaningful experience.

I cannot forget the time a pregnant woman died right before my eyes from complications of childbirth and we could not intervene.

Have you experienced changes / disappointments?

Since I work with a community that speaks a different language from mine, there is often the frustration of not being able to communicate directly with patients who do not speak Arabic.

What do you expect from your future?

From the future I hope to be able to help others even more, thanks to more detailed studies that intend to pursue in order to achieve a more specialized professional level.

How do you see your country in 20 years?

I think it will be more developed, with more schools, more adequate health services, and the elimination of ethnic and tribal contrasts that cause so many divisions.