16/06/2026
๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ, ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ: ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ
In the Lokloko neighborhood of Wau County, the heat hangs heavy and the rain has been slow to arrive. For many families, the delayed seasons are more than a weather concern; they are a warning of poor harvests and harder days ahead.
But for 51-year-old Harbia Zubeir, waiting for the rain is not an option. On most afternoons, she is already at work carefully packaging roasted groundnuts or preparing jars of rich peanut butter for customers far beyond her neighborhood.
Under the shade of her compound, her hands move quickly and confidently, while her daughter quietly shells groundnuts beside her. This small business is now her lifeline. But it was not always this way.
Harbiaโs journey has been marked by deep personal and economic hardship. A painful divorce and a serious illness, one that forced her to seek treatment in Khartoum just before the outbreak of the Sudan conflict, left her financially drained. Her savings disappeared into medical bills and family needs. Her dream of expanding into a larger retail business had to wait.
At the same time, her daughterโs university education was put on hold as the cost of survival took priority.
โIt was a very difficult time,โ she reflects, though she now speaks with quiet strength rather than regret.
Her turning point came when she was identified through a local support initiative. Help a Child, working with a church-based savings group in Wau, brought new structure and opportunity to women like her.
What began in 2022 as a weekly savings circle of 50 women saving 3,000 South Sudanese Pounds quickly became a registered Village Savings and Loan Association. With support for training and introduction of a grinding mill, the groupโs savings and business potential increased significantly. By 2024, they had increased their collective savings to about 22 million SSP.
For Harbia this was more than numbers, it was a second chance. She reinvested her share into rebuilding her groundnut business, slowly regaining stability and confidence. Today, she is not only a business owner but also a mentor to other women trying to start or grow their own enterprises.
โPeople trust the way I work,โ Harbia happily shares. โI have been invited to train other women groups and encourage them to keep going, even when things are hard.โ
Her work has now taken her beyond Wau. A local humanitarian organization recently invited her to Aweil North to train women groups in agribusiness expanding her influence far beyond her own neighborhood.
In a country where many families are still rebuilding their lives, Harbiaโs story stands as quiet proof that change is possible. Through savings, solidarity, and determination, she is helping other women see that even small beginnings can grow into something powerful.
In Lokloko, where the heat lingers and the seasons are uncertain, Harbia keeps working one jar of peanut butter at a time.
