Ms Helen Keogh:

I thank members for their questions and their support. The political initiative which members spoke about is really important. World Vision is operating in many different countries. Leaving aside the particular situation we are discussing today, it is not all doom and gloom. Through our work in west Africa, we have seen countries that are succeeding.

They are democratic, and while they struggle, they are on the correct road and are getting the support they need. South Sudan, the newest country in the world, is going through a civil war, which seems to be inevitable in the aftermath of independence, as the experiences of many countries suggest. After independence, civil war seems to ensue. We are talking about a place with many different tribes, which exacerbates the situation. There are people there who want and need peace. The children there need a future. We have to help them in whatever way we can, through our advocacy or by other means.

We empower people on the ground. We encourage people and help them to realise that things like equality and justice exist. We are not imposing anything on anybody but are empowering people so that they can deal with issues for themselves. The issue is that if people are struggling so badly that they are just existing from day to day, they cannot concentrate on anything beyond that. We are trying to help those people to get out of the very basic situation they are in. As Ms Garry has said, however, even in the area we are working in, we can see light at the end of the tunnel, and progress is being made. We very much hope that some of the young people we are helping at the moment can help to bring their country out of conflict.