Stories
August 27, 2026 • 3 min read
For mothers in Ulang County, consistent breastfeeding can be difficult to maintain while farming and managing household responsibilities. Through health and nutrition education supported by GOAL, mothers are learning practical ways to breastfeed exclusively during the first six months of their babies’ lives, including how to express and safely store breast milk.
Breast milk provides the nutrition young infants need during the first six months of life. However, for mothers who spend long hours working away from home, maintaining exclusive breastfeeding can be challenging.
In Ulang County, GOAL supports health and nutrition services that provide mothers with information and practical guidance on breastfeeding, maternal health and child nutrition. Community activities also involve fathers and other caregivers, recognising that mothers are more able to breastfeed when families share responsibilities and provide support.
When work makes breastfeeding difficult
For Nyaboth Tang, a Women Lead Representative in Ulang, access to practical information has made a difference in how mothers approach breastfeeding.
“Before GOAL began working in Ulang County, many mothers did not have enough information about proper breastfeeding practices. Women often travelled long distances to work on their farms and left their babies at home for most of the day. Because they could not breastfeed regularly, some babies were given cow’s milk before they reached six months,” she said.
For mothers who spend much of the day away from their babies, knowing that they can express breast milk and store it safely can make exclusive breastfeeding more manageable.
“Through GOAL’s nutrition and health education, mothers learned why exclusive breastfeeding is important and how to express and safely store breast milk. This means they can continue providing breast milk to their babies while carrying out farming and household responsibilities,” Nyaboth said.
Practical support at health facilities
At GOAL-supported health facilities in Ulang, mothers receive counselling on breastfeeding, including the importance of starting breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and continuing exclusively for the first six months.
Health workers also demonstrate practical techniques for expressing and safely storing breast milk. For mothers who work on farms or need to be away from home, these skills can help them continue breastfeeding even when they are not physically with their babies.
“More mothers are now following the recommendation to breastfeed exclusively during the first six months. The knowledge they have gained is helping them breastfeed their children consistently and contributing to better health and nutrition for infants in our community,” Nyaboth said.
The World Breastfeeding Week celebrated from August 1 to 7 brought these messages beyond health facilities, using songs, drama and community discussions to encourage families to support mothers and young children.
Families have a role to play
Breastfeeding is not only a responsibility for mothers. Fathers and other family members can help by sharing household tasks, caring for older children and creating the time and space mothers need to breastfeed.
Community discussions in Ulang encourage men and other caregivers to take on these responsibilities and understand how their support can contribute to better nutrition for young children.
For Nyoka Suzan, GOAL South Sudan’s Health and Nutrition Manager, the value of this work lies in helping families put knowledge into practice.
“World Breastfeeding Week is a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much further we can go together. Every mother we train, every newborn put to the breast within that first hour, is a step towards a healthier generation. We will continue standing with these communities,” she said.
In Ulang, the message is practical: when mothers have the right information, useful skills and support from their families, breastfeeding can be easier to maintain alongside the demands of daily life.
