 Now, Charlie McConnelogue was out in South Sudan in the last week and he was there to announce an increase in Ireland's funding for the work of the World Food Programme. And when he was there, didn't he bump into a woman from Mount Charles who is South Sudan's country director for the UN World Food Programme. Her name is Mary Ellen Rugorty and she joins us now on the line for a chat and on Zoom as well. Mary Ellen, how are you? Not too bad. Very well. Thank you. Greetings from Juba, South Sudan. Where is it? Where is it? What's the name of the town again? Juba. Juba. Okay, in South Sudan. Yeah. And we were given out buckets about the weather here because it's just really cold and miserable but we shouldn't really, should we? Yeah, we're just coming at the tail end of a heat wave for the last two weeks that resulted in schools and everything else being closed. Because as you can imagine, many people here don't have air conditioning or the monitor by the fuel for the generators to problem the ACs. Schools don't have many facilities. Yeah. So it's been pretty hot but we have a little bit of rain now today. So we had, so it's cooling down a little bit. Okay. So that'll help. Now, you're involved in the UN Programme. You're the country director in fact and what you do is you give support to a lot of people in South Sudan, millions in fact. So you have your hands full. Yes, this year we're hoping to reach about 4.5 million people and that's excluding what's happening with the war in Sudan. We've already seen over 620,000 people arrive from Sudan adding to that. It's a population, the country is a population of what 13 million people and it's estimated to probably over 70% of the people because of poverty, because of conflict, because of climate change need some form of humanitarian assistance. So for us it's about 4.5 million this year despite the fact that there's 7 million food insecure. All factors, 300,000 children with school meals and other 400,000 people that we're trying to support through resilience projects, some of those projects that the minister saw when he was out here in South Sudan for St Patrick's Day. It's a mammoth task and yet what you're doing it's still a Band-Aid. Yes it is only a Band-Aid and then particularly in South Sudan it's particularly challenging. We don't have much infrastructure so there's very different road networks so what we're trying to do so while most people welcome the rain today I'm kind of pulling my hair out a little bit because I have to get food into remote areas before those roads become cut off. We move a lot by river, we move a lot by air. Also security is quite a challenge so it isn't in some parts of the country so yeah we're up against the clock now and you know it is only a Band-Aid what we really need to be doing is what we really need in South Sudan is development, government investment investment in basic services, infrastructure, you know support to people so that they can grow themselves, that they have livelihoods but also we need peace right across the country and that you know if you look at some parts of the country where there has been relative stability we've been able to scale back our operations and in fact this year I was able to close two offices which is great good news story you know me because you don't need those big food assistance programs once people are able to get back to the land and back to their livelihoods. So many African countries have so much going against them and then you have to add in war and political instability and it's the case not just in Sudan and so many other African countries because there's you know you hear about droughts and you hear about farming practices and abject poverty but you know if there's political stability there's some chance then to make lasting changes. Yeah absolutely I mean if there's some level of political stability in peace I mean you look at what's happened in Sudan over the last year it's absolutely terrible and tragic what's happened but also South Sudan you know country the newest country in the youngest country got its independence in 2011 and was sadly wrapped by civil war in 2013 that erupted again in 2016 2018 they signed a peace agreement so there is a little bit of peace but they have a lot to build to build the nation you know and then you also have the ravages of climate change you know South Sudan for four years was you know unprecedented flooding of the Nile River I mean they have great water resources but that's also been they've been on the sharp end of climate change two million people displaced from their homes because of that and then the other side of the coin you have parts of the country that have terrible terrible drought you know agriculture production in there is potential but the you know the yields are way down they need investment in agriculture and in fact when the minister was here we brought him out to a cattle camp and they were talking about you know the milk yields they get from the cattle here compared to what we're getting in Ireland you know I mean it's it's numerous hundreds of percentage of differences you know so so they need and you don't get investment and you don't get the financial investment unless you have stability unless you unless you have peace you've had a long and varied career with the UN and it's it's a long way from Mount Charles to South Sudan you you you save some time in Afghanistan and had to work with the Taliban there that can't have been easy as a woman yeah that yeah not all that that was quite interesting I went to Afghanistan in 2020 didn't think a year later we'll be seeing the Taliban but I suppose we knew they were taking they were coming back but so soon to see that back in in Kabul and in August 2021 I suppose we'll all remember the 15th of August for different reasons but yeah it was interesting I suppose it's it's become a very sad place you saw the 20 years of hope and promise just all disappeared within in two weeks and even further as the Taliban started laying in their decrees around women working around gears going to school I mean gears are over the age of 12 are still out of school since what March 2020 2022 you know the second year of that now so yes as a woman it it was it was interesting I suppose you mean for them I'm already a lost cause right I'm out of the home I'm away from my husband I'm out straight thing right yeah exactly you're shaking you know they can't see it on the radio right shocking but yeah for them I suppose like I'm a I'm a thing I'm not I'm not really woman so it was it was it was interesting yet you know we had cases where they don't look at you straight you have to wear the scarf and everything else and don't let them see your lovely Irish locks and things like that but yeah an interesting bunch I think it's it's it's very sad in terms of what's happened particularly for for women and girls over over the last two years since since they have come back while there's probably you know more stability believe it or not sort of the bittersweet bit of it but you know certainly the situation for women and girls has has deteriorated there's there's so many countries in crisis and and we don't we don't often hear about them on whether that's Chad or Burkina Faso or Gaza or well we're we are hearing plenty about Gaza at the moment but we don't hear much about South Sudan and and why is that I mean we're living in an age where you know we're living in the info age where information is easy got and we're bombarded with it but why why do we not hear more about the sort of crisis that you're dealing with daily yeah I think we'd be but yeah I mean I suppose you have to you know you've created Gaza that have been taking taking up the news I think it's you know it's where the media is where it's where the interest is it is terrible because people no matter where they are if they have been upended by reasons of war and conflict and climate change through no fault of their own you mean they deserve our support they deserve our assistance you know young children everywhere are the same and you know that's one thing that I have layered in in this work it's it's all just a lottery of birth you know you and I are you know of a very privileged and lucky generation of where and when we were born right and in Ireland and the access to education and everything we have many many many millions and millions of people across the world don't don't have that and I think we have we have an onus on us all to be able to share some of the you know the windfall that we got as a result of our birth and educate you mentioned education there that's key as well isn't it I education I think you know when you look at where Ireland has come from and I you know I you know what the difference education has made made in Ireland it is it's it mean for me it's it's a thing that changes countries it's a thing that you know the next generation coming up they are the future of a country and and here in South Sudan for example there's over two million children out of school and you do think some days you know is it we just focus on education is that the one thing the game changer but I think we see from other countries education is the game changer when it comes to development of your education probably other things will pull themselves along up you're involved in the food program there and scarce as food may be in in many homes and is it true that in South Sudan that most families still want to share what they what they have with you when they come across you of course I mean the hospitality that you meet and I mean even you just look at their hospitality over the last year with the with the war in Sudan I mean over 610,000 people free I mean the communities are sharing the little they have and even still at the moment they're going through a terrible economic crisis because Sudan also is you know for South Sudan their major pipeline for oil runs through Sudan you mean there's problems with that now so they're not getting the oil revenue so we're currently seeing the economy and the depreciation and the local currency so we're seeing 30 to 40% increases in the prices of food now you can imagine if you spend 75-80% of your income on food what a 30-40% increase will do but yeah they're incredibly and incredibly generous people even when they have very little and when you go out to see communities and everything else you don't mean they want you to sit down and they want you to share to share a mean with them from Afghanistan to the Congo and out to South Sudan do you ever despair do you have to wake up in the morning think there's any end to this you know how can we keep on doing this I think I don't necessarily despair but I think what I've seen over the last you know to be over the last couple of months and what's going on in the Middle East I think it makes you think my goodness is this where we are you know where the world has never been as well faith we've never had the media the technology and everything else and we seem to be somehow going going in reverse a little bit and I think that that's that's quite worrying and thinking you know how do we how do we bring it back that sense of that sense of global community that sense of global humanity and and where is our intolerance for watching what we are seeing you know and are we becoming as the song says comfortably numb to the pain and suffering of many others across the world and finally Mary Ellen do you do manage to get home much yeah yeah I mean I was I was home there there in January hopefully get over the summer again for the lovely the lovely sunshine that we do haven't done it all just come home to cool down yeah no no hopefully get home with the summer yeah yeah I do get over back every couple of months so it's always great to get home catch up the walk with the family and get that the good Atlantic Gale on your face well listen it's vital work it's life-saving work that you're doing and and with you know an organization as big as the UN absolutely making a real difference and thanks for taking a wee bit of time out and you know I'm sure your day is incredibly busy but thanks for having a wee chat with us thank you very much and good evening get with the best virgin media