Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan have been lauded for their efforts to renovate a health institute in the war-ravaged nation's town, enabling crucial medical training to resume at the centre.
The Jonglei Health Institute located in Bor had been out of service for five years after being vandalised and abandoned when the conflict broke out in December 2013.
The Bor hospital too had been left abandoned but has long since reopened. However the health institute remained shuttered.
A report from UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said that following a request from the South Sudanese government, the UN and the Indian peacekeepers carried out extensive repairs of the facilities, including its water supply system, generator and lighting, putting in place essential infrastructure necessary to provide medical services.
At the end of the month, the health facility will start training 40 recruits to become nurses, midwives and other clinical staff.
Attending a ceremony at the Institute, local resident Joyce Akol welcomed the re-opening of the health institute.
"It opens an opportunity for me and many of my friends to get trained as health personnel and acquire skills that can provide us with a livelihood and employment, in the main hospital here or anywhere in the country," she said, adding: "It also indicates that slowly, peace is returning to our country."
A local resident Rebecca Yar was quoted as saying in the report that the 40 people set to receive training would help provide better healthcare and treatment to patients.
India is the second largest contributor of peacekeepers to the UN's mission in South Sudan with more than 2,400 military and police personnel now deployed in the country.
Last year as part of its 'Service and Sacrifice' campaign, the UN honoured Indian peacekeepers for carrying out initiatives that go beyond the call of duty and that have made a positive impact on the lives of the people in the countries where they are deployed.
Earlier this month, South Sudan State Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Urban planning in Bentiu Tuach Lew Thoat had praised the Indian Peacekeepers for renovating a road network connecting the state capital to parts of the region.
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