This year, the two communities of Jonglei State, Twic and Bor, as it has always been, will separately witness a fierce race for the next youth leader.
The communities will select some of their best sons through one of the best democratic means, without favor and this young leader will carry the burdens of community on his shoulders for the next two years.
It is almost like running a charity organization but most of the presidential hopefuls are self-made gentlemen. They have money and many of them are running successful businesses, nonprofits and more. Every South Sudanese community has those kinds of successful young people who are doing incredible things for their communities and it points to one thing, that the future is bright.
The good part of TEYA or BCYA activity is the fact that it bonds you to people, even the ones you hate. It is therapeutic and much fun, especially if you are someone facing your own issues. Life as well all know is a self-centered thing and this activity brings you closer to people that makes you feel like you are sharing your burdens with someone. Just like Sherikat Arsenal mathira or marching, it is one of the few initiatives in our country that give our communities another big thing to bond over.
The position doesn’t have a salary and because it is about serving the community freely without expecting much in return, the young people from these communities want to confirm how the youth leader would use the community resources in the next two years, and the only way to do that is to feed them well. Spend millions of pounds and make mountains of promises. Loyalty is never built in years. It is about feeding the stomach, the mind and the heart.
Members of the stingy men association have never participated in this exercise of democracy because it is the only place where the candidates spend a lot of money to win the hearts of the young people and when you lose because the spot is only one, you spend days or even months without smiling with your bank account.
The Twic East Community should allow Deng William Junior to prove himself. He seems to be an interesting guy for two reasons; first, he never gives up easily and secondly he loves his community and wants to be a part of its growth. After losing two times, the only person who never looked at him as a loser was his wife. This is a lesson to all young women with small girls included. Stand with your men in both good and bad times. They will excel, even in hardships.
South Sudan is a country that has never experienced any democratic election or a peaceful transfer of power since its birth in 2011 and if you don’t know why, you can walk to J.1 anytime from 9am to 4 pm from Monday to Friday to ask. The men there will give you a place to sit and explain everything to you well for free.
If you want to know from me, it is simple, there is no budget for the elections and because of that, young people from these two communities have decided to practice democracy at the community level and make it real to an extent of hurting the government. In fact, the government will continue to think that the country is doing well and that everyone is happy when millions of people live in extreme poverty without an escape strategy.
The interesting thing with our people is that we have found ways to be happy even in difficult situations. The ongoing youth leadership is one of the many reasons that young people are the future and are always willing to serve their communities with good hearts. It is also a reminder that this too shall pass and young people of this country will one day take charge. I don’t know when that is going to happen but when it does, it is going to be one of the best times to be alive.
There is hope and that is the pattern that governs life. You hope for things not in sight, things that will never happen. The truth is, life is not going to be better but hold on to hope. It works.
The BCYA and TEYA attract some of the community’s brightest and when I say “bright”, I mean bachelor degree holders, entrepreneurs, academics and even medical professionals. If you have a diploma from an institute, the community can ask you to upgrade or they can excuse you to look after your family because this position is never meant for you.
The campaign trail is the most interesting part of this event. The candidates speak big and make promises that leave the South Sudanese government in shock and because illiteracy is the biggest problem in our communities, most candidates talk about fighting it tooth and nail. But for other youth leaders, it is to improve their communities within those years.
About two years ago, Arok Dut and his deputy Atem Khot, the current Juba based Twic East youth leadership started a program, a vocational institute, which in years to come, will bring education closer to community members and create jobs for youth. But they started it with a latrine and the whole community was shocked, terribly mad. How can you build a latrine when everyone else has his? But the community was too quick to judge. Arok’s goal was to start small and grow big and now, he had finally left something behind, a facility that will fight illiteracy, the biggest problem in our community.
The current elections bring, as I mentioned before, two notable gentlemen and if I were you, I would vote for them. Elijah Manyok Jok is a humanitarian from Bor County and Deng William Junior is a scholar from Twic East.
These two communities are lucky that these young people have decided to willingly serve them because in other countries, thousand miles away from South Sudan, young leaders like them are racing for top political positions but the worse thing South Sudanese government has done to its civil population was making sure that young people don’t get the chance showcase their leadership skills at the national levels.
When these young people decide to return to their communities because it is tough up there, our communities must be very smart in selecting the best and brightest among the best candidates, those who will be able to move our communities forward. Peace.