By John Wulu Deng

A newly constructed women’s center has been inaugurated in Nyamlel, Aweil West County, with the aim of expanding opportunities for women through skills development, livelihood support and empowerment.

The Nyamlel Women’s Center was officially inaugurated on September 9 by German Deputy Head of Mission to South Sudan, Nicole A. Hofmann, and Alice Oleya Jino, Programme Manager at the European Union Delegation to South Sudan.

The center was co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through the ResPEct project, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ.

The facility has three rooms designed to support training and empowerment activities in a safe and inclusive environment.

GIZ says women in Aweil West will use the center for skills development, entrepreneurship, livelihood activities, networking and community engagement.

Since September 2025, four hundred and eighty women have participated in training activities under the ResPEct project, while three hundred stakeholders and four hundred and twenty young people have benefited indirectly.

The training has included business and financial management, leadership and people management, as well as gender-based violence prevention.

The center has now been officially handed over to the Women’s Association of Aweil West.

GIZ Field Technical Advisor Kenyi Mark Peter Luba says the training conducted during the construction period has laid a foundation for sustainable livelihoods and empowerment, allowing women to put their skills into practice and strengthen their economic activities.

The ResPEct project, which stands for Stop SGBV — Respond, Prevent, Educate, is a three-year initiative with a budget of 8.260 million euros.

The project focuses on strengthening counselling services, supporting women’s groups, engaging men in discussions on gender roles, and raising awareness on the prevention of sexualised and gender-based violence in communities and schools.