Major Catherine Wollocombe - peacekeeping in South Sudan.
We were honoured to have as our key speaker Major Catherine Wollocombe, CD. Major Wollocombe spoke about her six-month tour with the United Nations as a Senior Staff Officer and the Deputy and Acting Task Force Commander of Operation SOPRANO for more than two months in Juba, South Sudan.
The focus of her involvement was peacekeeping, and as peace and conflict resolution is one of Rotary's 6 area's of focus, her talk really resonated with our Club. She explained that "the world health organization has declared a famine of the worst kind. Capacity building is only a dream for now, as we are building from the bottom up. It will take a generation of sustained effort to gain any level of competence of a new country. . . Despite challenges, such as access to people in need, the humanitarian operation in South Sudan continues to reach millions with aid. More than 5 million people have been assisted with food, health, water and sanitation, education, livelihoods, nutrition as well as critical protection services". Our Club thanks Major Wollocombe for her address, and for her unwavering service in peacekeeping initiatives.