Feature: Crashing a living from stones, a tale of three widows in South Sudan

The economic hardship affecting war-torn South Sudan has forced some citizens to resort to extreme hard labour to make ends meet and sustain their families.

Women are not spared. In the capital Juba, some women have to earn a living by cracking stones to put food on the table for their children, as well as education and health.

Mary Dudu, Margret Sander and Jaheli Jore are some of the women interviewed by Xinhua in Juba to find out what compelled them to depend on crashing stones as their livelihood.

Dudu, a widow and a mother of six, was working in harsh weather at a roundabout next to a church when interviewed.

She told Xinhua that she began stone crashing in 2010 after the death of her husband which forced her to think outside the box as she has to shoulder the responsibilities of taking care of her household.

She said that she first began the business on another street but was constrained to shift to the roundabout because customers irregularly pass by to buy the ready-made stones.

"I get raw materials from Jebel Kujur ( a mountain on the outskirts of Juba) at a cost of 11.6 dollars per trip and I sell half a Jerry can of cracked stones at 2.3 dollars just only to earn a family daily bread," Dudu said.

Dudu said, despite many difficulties she experienced she will not to give up simply because the business is the "backbone" of her children endurance.

In soft voice, the hard-working woman in her late 50s said one of her offspring was about to finish secondary education while the rest of the siblings were in primary levels.

"I am struggling a lot so that my children do not follow me but to have brighter future," Dudu said.

She wants people to recognize her work instead of despising when passing by. She thanks those who have been motivating her while passing near her place of work.

Sandra, a mother of eight, does the same job. She said she found herself into the job also following the death of her husband back in 2007.

She said the job enabled her to feed and educate her eight children, most of whom are in school.

Sandra admitted that the work was difficult and required hard work as it is accompanied by some ailments after work.

"Lack of buyers is affecting our living standards as the current economic situation in the country is pathetic," she added.

Another widow, Jaheli Jore, a mother of four, is also experiencing the same circumstances. However, despite exerting herself in stone crashing, she could not manage to send her children to school.

"The little I earn from the business only helps in sustaining the family due to high inflation in our economy," she said. Endit