Raising Their Voices
In the midst of the violence in South Sudan, a choir of girls rescued from the streets keeps hope alive
I am in Grade VI, going to Grade VII. My Christmas wish is to be able to finish school.
Regina, 15-year-old member of the Confident Children out of Conflict choir in Juba, South Sudan
The line from Beijing to Juba is bad. It takes
veral attempts to connect and even after the call goes through, the voices on the other end keep on disappearing and the tenuous link breaks.
Then Monique comes on the line. She has just finished school for the day and is on her way to choir practice. She launches into a full-throated rendition of Christ is born in Bethlehem, the traditional Christmas carol that she will be singing in church and at festive season events, and the magic of her beautiful voice triumphs over the reluctant line.
Welcome to the Confident Children out of Conflict (CCC) choir. It incorporates elements of The Sound of Music and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, yet retains a unique sound. And it lights up South Sudan, the world’s youngest country that has witnessed more violence and bloodshed than peace and progress since its birth in July 2011.
Cathy’s story
The choir grew out of Cathy Groenendijk’s moving encounters with young girls who were living on the streets in abject poverty, the fallout of the war.
Groenendijk, born in Uganda, came to Sudan in 1999 with her Dutch missionary husband to run a health program. The country was caught up in a civil war between the north and the south. She was struck by how people talked about the “lost boys” of Sudan - more than 20,000 boys who were displaced by the violence and either died or ended up in refugee camps in Kenya - but no one talked about the “lost girls,” who stayed on, living a traumatic and vulnerable life.
“They were living on the street, in markets, and even in cemeteries,” Groenendijk said. “At first I would just talk with them and offer them one meal a day.”
In 2007, she founded CCC in Sudan, which currently runs a shelter for children, mostly girls, educating them and teaching them social skills. She initially rented a place to shelter the girls but has since received funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency for the building where they are currently housed.
“We are taking in children who have no other option. These are street children, many of whom have been severely abused. This is a male-dominated society and the war has eroded tradition,” Groenendijk said. “We had 60 girls but with the recent violence, the number has gone up to 89 children.” After South Sudan got independent in 2011, they remained in South Sudan.
Ellen (not her real name) was born after her father went to fight in the war. She lived in the market with her mother, who was an alcoholic. “When I came across Ellen, she was filthy and her language was foul,” Groenendijk said. “She lived a risky life, surviving on picking pockets. She was also sexually abused. And she was only seven.”
Alina (not her real name) was brought to CCC by her mother. “She was 12 or 13 and her father and brothers were getting her married,” Groenendijk said. “Girls are used as commodities to bring money, especially in a conflict zone. A girl child is a tree who is meant for harvesting. They gave her to a man who paid cows for her. When she came to us, she couldn’t read or write. All she had was her beautiful voice. Now she has started to dream. She wants to be somebody.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
Girls from the choir
Many of the girls had lovely voices and they loved singing. It made Groenendijk think of starting a choir. “Forming the choir was one of the most logical activities to bring the girls together and make them work together,” she explained.
She said on first arrival the girls could not read or write or speak an intelligible language and they often quarreled. After the choir was formed in 2007 it brought them together and the choir became one of the most successful activities in their lives.
Groenendijk said the choir has transformed the girls, giving them the chance to perform for important people and boosting their confidence.
“The choir helps them reach their dreams, [and] become someone,” she said.
The choir performs in a church
A volunteer’s story
When Eleanor Caine sang in the Clare College Choir in Cambridge as a student and then in the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, she did not think that one day, she would be singing with young girls in South Sudan.
Looking for work in the development sector, she was recruited to work on a girls’ education program in South Sudan in 2015 and found, to her delight, that part of her job was to volunteer at CCC, specifically helping in musical activities.
“There are about 15 [girls in the choir] and the music is mostly vocal though sometimes drums are used. The girls are very talented and very good with drums,” Caine said. While the youngest is 12 the oldest are about 17.
One of the main venues for the choir is the All Saints’ Cathedral in Juba, capital of South Sudan, which along with other churches has been sheltering the displaced during escalations in conflict. “I sang all my life in choirs. And to sing with all these young people is a wonderful experience,” Caine said.
Christmas and the New Year are occasions the girls especially look forward to, when they sing Christmas carols at the cathedral. The audiences are mostly South Sudanese, sprinkled with members of the diplomatic community and international community staff working in Juba.
“People still have their humanity. They want to make things better and celebrate Christmas with these girls, who have suffered a lot,” Caine said. “People want peace and it [the choir] brings hope to people.”
The demand for the choir is growing, though because of the new violence people are unable to stay out late. They sing at events ranging from weddings to UN high-level dialogues. The choir also sings popular Arabic songs and songs specially written for South Sudan.
“They have not enjoyed any formal training but have wonderful voices. And they enjoy singing,” Caine said, adding that the choir has made a real difference in the lives of these girls who have suffered so much and it is inspiring to see how much more confident they have become.
The girls’ stories
Veronica, who comes from Central Equatoria State, which has seen fresh violence in 2016, has a simple Christmas wish. “I am in Grade VI, going to Grade VII,” the 15-year-old said. “My Christmas wish is to be able to finish school.”
When she grows up, Veronica has a distinct goal. “I want to be the education minister so that more children like me can go to school,” she said.
Seventeen-year-old Monique sounds both confident and gregarious. However, she has not always been like that. “When the war was in Juba and we could hear gunshots, I was afraid,” she confessed. However, when she sings, she feels confident and happy. “I feel lucky. I have been given an opportunity to go to school,” she said.
Umjima also has a specific goal. “When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer. I want to fight for people’s rights,” she said. CA
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