Strengthening as a Pathway to the Empowerment of Organization of Persons with Disabilities  

From July 28 to August 1, 2025, a five-day capacity-strengthening workshop was held in Juba, South Sudan, as part of the Phase 4 – Leave no one behind! project. The training brought together leaders of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) from across the country to improve their leadership, governance, financial management, and inclusive coordination skills.  

Fifteen OPD leaders (13 men and 2 women) attended the workshop, including 10 participants with disabilities (8 men and 2 women). The participants represented several organizations, including the South Sudan Union of Persons with Disabilities (SSUPD), the South Sudan Association of Physically Impaired (SSAPI), the South Sudan Association of the Visually Impaired (SSAVI) from Juba, the Persons with Disabilities Society (PWDS) from Wau, the Greater Pibor Union of Persons with Disabilities (GPUPD) from Pibor, and the Northern Bahr el Ghazal Union of Persons with Disabilities (NBGUP) from Aweil. Representatives from the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare (MGCSW) were also present. 

The workshop was tailored to the training needs and interests of the OPDs based on the capacity gaps identified in the OPD Mapping and Capacity Assessment report. The workshop aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in leadership, governance, basic financial and logistical procedures, report writing, Disability Reference Group (DRG) modules, and inclusive coordination. The sessions-built participants’ confidence to engage actively in cluster coordination mechanisms and equipped them to manage small grants effectively for project implementation, particularly for the two sub-granted OPDs, SSAPI and PWDS.

A diverse team of experts facilitated the training, including the African Disability Forum Coordinator, who led sessions on OPD leadership and governance. Other facilitators included the Disability Inclusion Coordinator, Inclusive Humanitarian Action (IHA) Specialist, Project Managers, Logistics Manager, Senior Finance Controller, and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) focal points. 

The Country Manager emphasized: 

“I am thrilled with the positive turn up of the OPDs leaders and call for continuous collaboration and formal partnership for successful implementation of the projects”.

On the other hand, the Deputy Director from the Department of Social Welfare, Abraham Nhial, on behalf of MGCSW, emphasized: 

“I am excited with HI, for organizing this capacity strengthening workshop for OPDs based on the capacity gaps identified after the mapping and capacity assessment conducted. I therefore request active participation and peer exchanges among the participants, and to cascade the knowledge acquired to their respective members upon return”.   

Similarly, one participant emphasized: 

“This training is relevant and informative to us as OPD leaders, to effectively lead our respective associations and to meaningfully start participating in different cluster meetings”. 

Text and photo by Obale Musa, HI South Sudan