Salaam Junub is a youth civil society organization established in January 2018 by a group of visionary, courageous and civically engaged young leaders from across South Sudan who are passionate about both ending the vicious systemic dynamics that are dehumanizing people and building the foundations for a better society. Salaam Junub uses innovative activities to engage youth in nation building, leadership development and peace building at community level. We initiated an activity known as Take Tea Together (TTT) for peace and social cohesion which has drawn nearly three thousand youths and members of civil society organizations from diverse backgrounds & networks to deliberate on the role of youth in peace building and conflict resolution, leadership, good governance and socio-economic development. TTT is usually organized under trees which have been renamed as “Peace Trees” in Gurei, where people take tea in groups while discussing issues that affect the community.
To date Salaam Junub has organized more than 45 TTT forums in its pilot initiative in Gurei, Tali (Terekeka), Anuol (Yirol West) and Mvolo to discuss issues of conflicts, hate speech, negative tribalism, youth empowerment and other pertinent issues. These forums have received a tremendous support from the community members who find it as a potential forum to socialize, discuss issues of concern, relieve stress and other psychosocial issues and promote peace, community cohesion and development.