“As a restless child, I used to do things my own way and was never tamed.. I got into the field track as thin as I was and won the race”. 

Rita Lopidia discloses how she gains strength in the presence of the Lord to press on in her leadership journey. “I always find solace in the Lord. I isolate myself to meditate on the greatness of the Lord God and this is the source of my strength”, she told the Young Women Leaders who were attending the second Cohort of the Incubator 2019 as a way of encouraging and motivating them.  

Rita trod on a journey packed with challenges till she made it into being a signatory to the Revitalized Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) as a representative of the South Sudan Women Coalition for Peace.

She disclosed the desire to mentor young women for leadership as a way of giving back to the community; an opportunity that she and her generation missed out. And so far, EVE Organization for Women Development where she is the executive director as well as the cofounder has mentored more than 100 young women leaders in its Incubators as a process of strengthening South Sudan women leadership and political participation for durable peace and stability in South Sudan.

She says it’s possible to achieve your goal as long as you have the passion and the determination. In her own words, she shared her story to inspire the Young Women Leaders who turned up for the second cohort of the incubator.

“While growing up during the long civil war starting from 1983-2005, life turned rough just at the age of ten. I lost my dad leaving me plus my four siblings under the care of our mom who struggled as a widow to raise us up in the war tone region. My mother’s decision of relocating to Khartoum for refuge was due to the then shelling of Juba by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

 Growing up in Khartoum was not easy as South Sudanese were discriminated against because of our affiliation to Christianity. We struggled as Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs), I saw some of my colleagues dropping out of school due to different issues but I managed to stick on.

I joined the school’s athletic competition at the age of 13 and I qualified to get into the Sudan national athletics team. We had representatives from all the regions of the Sudan and only a few from the South. The women from regions such as the Nuba Mountains, Darfur, Northern Sudan were more senior to us. But as a restless child, I used to do things in my own way and I got into the field truck as tiny as I was and won the race. 

In 1993, my age disqualified me from participating in the Olympic game in Barcelona. Even though I cried out my heart, still I couldn’t meet the criteria. This didn’t discourage me. Two years later there was the IAAF World Championship in 1995 and I still didn’t qualify as I was still underage. I was then given an assessment of age that qualify me to go to Sweden for the competition. I was very good that I couldn’t be ignored anymore. I became the flag bearer of the Sudan representing the Women in Goteborg – Sweden. I was on the same field truck with Maria Motola the world champion from Mozambique. I was incomparable to her but the fact that I share the same track with her was a pride for me. I stood my ground full of pride for I knew everything was done in the same truck as her.

Becoming the flag bearer of the women of the Sudan in Goteborg was just enough to ignite the journey of my life upon my return….and the genesis of EVE Organization for Women Development.

I became more responsible and more focused on my studies and the result is what I am today. My friends and I co-founded Eve Organization prior to my graduation from the University of Juba at the age of 22, to date I have grown up in this Organization.

And this incubator is a result of my journey, it is the aspiration of Eve organization and it is a project that I am passionate about and very close to my heart… and I believe very much in young women. Young women have the energy and the will to do things very well if directed. If mentored and trained we can make a difference in our homes, community and the nation at large”.