For years, the Agency for Women and Children Development (AWACD) worked tirelessly at the grassroots level to protect women and children across South Sudan. Our focus on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, child protection, youth empowerment, and community mobilization kept us close to the realities of those we served. Yet despite our deep community roots, we remained absent from national policy and budget discussions that directly impacted the lives of women and children.
“We were engaged, but not empowered,” says William Puok, Executive Director of AWACD. “We knew advocacy was important, but we didn’t have the tools or knowledge to do it effectively.”
In 2024, that began to change. Through the Right2Grow initiative, implemented by the Child Rights Civil Society Coalition (CRC), AWACD became one of several community-based organizations trained in budget monitoring and expenditure tracking (BMET). The project’s goal was clear: to strengthen the legitimacy and capacity of local CSOs so they could meaningfully influence public policy and budget processes.
That changed with the arrival of the Right2Grow project, implemented through the Child RightsCoalition (CRC). Rather than treating us as passive participants, Right2Grow recognized our potential and invested in building our capacity.
“The project didn’t just invite us into the conversation it equipped us to lead it,” William reflects. “Through intensive, hands-on training, we learned how to develop position papers, conduct budget and financial analysis, and package our advocacy messages in ways that policy actors would listen to.”
This learning was transformative. For the first time, AWACD gained visibility at the national level. We were no longer asking to be heard we were being listened to.
“We found ourselves in rooms we’d never been in before. We were part of dialogues that shape real decisions. We were not only present we were heard,” William shares.
AWACD now confidently contributes to national advocacy and policy forums, bringing voices from marginalized communities into conversations on budget allocations, child rights, and gender equality. We are no longer intimidated by the technical language of policy; instead, we translate lived experiences into data-informed advocacy.
“This shift was powerful,” says William. “We no longer feel like we’re knocking on doors. We’re being invited in and we have something to say.”
But the impact of Right2Grow goes beyond AWACD alone. It has shown us what is possible when civil society is given the right support.
“There are hundreds of grassroots organizations across South Sudan whose voices still go unheard,” William adds. “With the kind of support Right2Grow gave us, they too could inform public policies and shape national decisions.”
Today, AWACD does not only advocates but mentor. We support other community-based organizations to find their voice and build their confidence in advocacy spaces.
“Right2Grow didn’t just amplify our voice,” William concludes. “It turned us into amplifiers for others. Our belief in what we can achieve has completely changed. We are ready to lead, to share, and to ensure no community is left behind.”