In the last two years, I have traveled to South Sudan three different times. Each trip has varied greatly from the last. One thing that hasn’t wavered is the undying spirit and optimism of the people of the world’s youngest nation. As the country now finds itself entrenched in another conflict, which has no foreseeable end in sight, that spirit is being tested yet again.

On my most recent trip this December, I visited some of the nearly one and a half million people who have been forced to flee their homes over the past year as fighting has engulfed large parts of the country. In the small town of Mingkaman on the Nile River we met people who have been forced to flee their homes, leaving behind their possessions, their jobs, and, in many cases, their families. But the people of South Sudan continue to demonstrate a deep pride in their country’s hard-won independence. Despite the decades of war many of them have endured, they continue to carry with them the hope for a better future for themselves and for their children.

By Mackenzie Knowles/Coursin for Oxfam America.

The fighting has meant that women head most of the families receiving assistance. They divide up the monthly rations of dried sorghum, pulses (legumes), salt, and some cooking oil and carry the bags back to their camp. Many of the women I met once had their own land, and would grow their own food. Now, they rely on aid agencies like Oxfam to provide for themselves and their families. At this food distribution center in Mingkaman, Oxfam is working with the World Food Programme to provide food to almost 90,000 people.