Opinion
Localization is not a slogan. It is a balance sheet
The share of humanitarian funding reaching local organizations directly remains low. ALDO argues the case for changing that.
22 July 2026 · 1 min read
Agrarian Livelihoods Development Organization · Juba, South Sudan
South Sudanese-led.
South Sudanese-led.
Community-owned.
Built to last.
The world's youngest nation faces the world's oldest emergencies: hunger, flood, displacement, and war on its border. ALDO exists because the answer will not be imported. It will be grown here, by the women, children, and farming families who call this land home.
$25 seeds and training for one mother ☀
$100 cooperative cold-chain access ☀
$500 one solar battery, fifty families ☀
$1,000 a month of field operations ☀
72% direct program delivery ☀
48 hours the spoilage window we break ☀
The reality on the ground
A country of extraordinary promise, under extraordinary pressure.
Fertile land, young people, and rivers that could feed a region. Yet conflict, five consecutive years of historic flooding, and the war in neighbouring Sudan have pushed millions to the edge. These are the numbers behind the need.
7.1Mpeople facing acute food insecurity in recent IPC analyses
35 to 60%of fish, vegetables and dairy lost to spoilage without cold storage
2M+people internally displaced by conflict and climate shocks
3xa girl is more likely to die in childbirth than to finish secondary school
Who we are
Founded by South Sudanese. Accountable to the people we serve.
ALDO is a national humanitarian and development organization built by South Sudanese professionals, peacebuilders, educators, gender advocates, and community leaders. Our founders carry decades of institutional experience across international agencies, now consolidated into a nationally owned vehicle rooted in the communities it works with.
We work across food security, livelihoods, education, health, water and sanitation, gender equality, climate resilience, and peacebuilding. Our vision is simple to state and hard to earn: progressive and resilient communities with sustainable livelihoods, improved quality of life, and equal opportunities for all.
Our strategic pillars, 2026 to 2030
Eight programs. One goal: self-reliance.
Each pillar reinforces the others, so that a gain in one place becomes a gain everywhere.
Livelihoods and Food Security
Income-generating agriculture, livestock, savings groups, and financial inclusion for farming households.
ExploreEducation and Skills Development
Quality education for children, vocational training, and literacy for women and young people.
ExploreHealth, Nutrition and WASH
Primary healthcare, nutrition services, and safe water and sanitation for vulnerable communities.
ExploreGender Equality and Protection
Women's leadership, GBV prevention and response, and protection of children's rights.
ExploreClimate Resilience
Adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable agriculture for a warming, flooding world.
ExplorePeacebuilding and Social Cohesion
Community dialogue, conflict prevention, and youth engagement in reconciliation.
ExploreCommunity Empowerment
Local governance, civic engagement, and community-driven development decisions.
ExploreEvidence and Partnerships
Rigorous MEAL systems and strategic partnerships with UN agencies, government, and civil society.
ExploreHunger in South Sudan is not a mystery. It is a supply chain with missing pieces. Help us build them.
Your gift goes directly into cold storage, seeds, training, and protection for women and children, delivered by South Sudanese staff on South Sudanese soil.
PRESERVE · Northern Bahr el Ghazal
Forty-eight hours. That is how long a harvest survives without cold.
Between 35 and 60 percent of the fish, vegetables, and dairy produced in Northern Bahr el Ghazal spoil within two days of harvest. No refrigeration. No market reach. No income. PRESERVE places producer owned, solar powered cold-chain hubs at anchor sites in Aweil, governed by the cooperatives that use them and built to survive flood, drought, and a fragile grid.
350producer households in the pilot
2anchor hub sites in Aweil
12months to prove the model
We were losing everything at harvest. By the time we reached the market, half the fish were gone. If the cold room is ours, everything changes. Our families eat. Our children go to school.
Achol DengFish producer, Aweil East, Northern Bahr el Ghazal
Behind every statistic is a household making impossible choices between food, school fees, and medicine. Your support removes the impossible from that sentence.
Latest from ALDO
All news and events
News, field notes and expert views
Field notes
From Aweil’s fields: what a lost harvest costs a family
A close look at how post-harvest loss and weak market access translate into unpaid school fees and postponed medicine.
20 July 2026 · 1 min read
Gender and nutrition
When women lead, the whole village eats better
Evidence from across East Africa shows that women's leadership in agriculture improves nutrition, school attendance, and savings.
18 July 2026 · 1 min read
From the field
Open the gallery
The work, in the open.
Working with and toward
Every dollar goes further when the people doing the work are the people who live there.
Stand with South Sudan's women, children, and farming families today.