TITLE:
Stories from the Front Line: Coping Strategies for Flood Disasters among the Dinka Community of Bor County, South Sudan
AUTHORS:
Chris A. Shisanya, Joy A. Obando
KEYWORDS:
Bor County, Coping, Dinka, Floods, Underlying Causes, Payam
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.9,
September
24,
2024
ABSTRACT: The frequency of floods in Jonglei State, Bor County of South Sudan has significantly increased in recent times due to climate change. Bor County has the highest frequency of floods, making this area highly vulnerable. We conducted a qualitative study in five Payams of Makuach, Anyidi, Baidit, Kolnyang and Jalle. A total of ten Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and twenty Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted. We used trained research assistants (moderator and note taker) to collect data. All research tools were initially translated to local Dinka language. All discussions were audio taped, and were transcribed verbatim before analysis. We explored both coping strategies and underlying causes of vulnerability. Data were analysed using latent content analysis through identifying codes from which basis categories were generated and grouped into themes. Results of the study show that the positive coping strategies used to deal with floods in Bor County included: adoption of good farming methods, support from government and other partners, livelihood diversification and using indigenous knowledge in weather forecasting and preparedness. Relocation was identified as unsustainable because people often returned back to high-risk areas due lack of public participation in decision making. The main causes of vulnerability were: poverty, lack of formal education, people inhabiting high risk areas, lack of formal education and knowledge on flood preparedness and, cultural beliefs affecting people’s ability to cope. This study has revealed that deep rooted links to poverty, lack of formal education and low levels of knowledge on flood preparedness were responsible for failure to overcome the effects of floods in vulnerable areas of Bor County. However, support from the government and implementation partners was identified to be effective in enabling the community to reduce the negative effects of floods. This calls for high impact innovative interventions focused on addressing these underlying causes as well as public participation of all stakeholders in scaling the effective coping strategies in order to build resilience in this Dinka community and other similarly flood affected areas of South Sudan.