A boy named Care

A story of a family’s appreciation for CARE’s work in South Sudan

A child health card confirming the child’s name as Care. 

Ludia Ajasi is a widow who lives in Odikolong, a small village located in the outskirts of Torit State in South Sudan. She survives by farming a small piece of land behind her house.  But for the past years, her harvest has been bad due to poor rains, making her struggle to feed her family.

“When my husband died, we had eight children,” says Ludia. “Although it was tough managing such a large family, I was at least happy that he was around to help me. With his death, I had to look after the children alone.”

Married again

A few months after the death of her husband, Ludia was- by tradition- expected to marry his late husband’s young brother. She didn’t very much object to the idea as she thought having a man around the house would ease the burden of taking care of the children.

“I was very wrong about the man,” she says. “He only came once and that’s when I got pregnant again. But he disappeared never to return.”

With the potential helper gone, Ludia had to look for a way to support her big family. “I couldn’t divorce my new husband because his family would demand back cows they paid for dowry. My family don’t have the cows as they used them to pay dowry for my brothers,” she explains.

Life’s struggles

With no source of income, each day became a struggle for survival for Ludia and her family. When she couldn’t find food, the children would go in town and scavenge for leftovers in local restaurants.

“My brother who stay in Uganda came to visit me last year,” says Ludia. “He was deeply touched by what I was going through. He offered to take seven kids with him and I was left with my youngest daughter, Eli. I didn’t have a choice but to let them go.”

Despite the timely help, Ludia still had Eli to feed. But with no job and a failed harvest, the struggle for food continued. And when all hope seemed lost, CARE came knocking at her door.

CARE to the rescue

“I was chosen by the community to participate in a cash for work project by CARE,” says Ludia, who by then, was one month pregnant. “This was a big relief as I didn’t have any source of income.”

The project targeted vulnerable people in conflict affected locations, particularly households headed by women. It supported the households with cash by engaging them to work on road maintenance and rehabilitation services in their communities.

“This was the first time in years to have an income of my own. I knew I had to save some of the money since the project was for three months only,” says Ludia, “So I joined a village savings group supported by CARE.”

Eight months later, the savings would come handy. Ludia was due for delivery and she used part of her savings to hire a motorcycle taxi to take her to the hospital.

Naming child after CARE

“it’s a quite a distance to the hospital,” she says.  “If I didn’t save some of the money for transport, it could have been difficult for me to walk such a long distance.”

Ludia stayed for a day in the hospital. The next morning, she gave birth to a baby boy.

“When the doctors asked me the name of the child, I told them that he is Care. They looked at me as if they didn’t get what I said. I told them, yes, his name is Care,” she explains.

For the health staff, it was something new for a parent to name her child after an organization. Normally, the family names a child after their father or a relative.

But for Ludia, she had enough reasons for her choice of name, “CARE helped me in my greatest time of need. I was struggling so much but they came and gave me a job. No one has ever done that to me. So it was befitting that I name my child after the organization,” she says.

The future

Ludia is now one of the farmers benefitting from CARE’s food security and livelihood project. She is part of a group of famers who are supported by the organisation with farm inputs such as vegetable and sorghum seeds, farming tools among others.

“So far, the rains have been good. I have already planted my sorghum and I also have a backyard garden where I planted vegetables,” she says. “If we continue to have good rains, I am sure to have a good harvest.”

A good harvest means Ludia will have enough to feed her remaining two children. And if she gets a surplus, she will sell some of her produce to get money to buy basic necessities. For now, Ludia has set her sights on raising and educating Care so that he can help other people in need.

Care plays with his mother outside their house. Photo: Joseph Scott/CARE

“I want him to go to school and then get a job with CARE,” says Ludia. “I know that if he works with CARE, he will help other people in need.”

Learn more about CARE's work in South Sudan.