
Bayak Chuol Puoch
Founder and Executive Director
The story of Nile Care Advocacy for Peace and Development (NILECAPD) is deeply rooted in the painful memories of the 2013 crisis in South Sudan. During this period of violence, lives were shattered, communities displaced, and hope seemed to be slipping away. Even among South Sudanese refugees in Egypt – already uprooted by previous conflict—tensions and violence still followed, threatening to divide communities further.
In the face of this despair, Mr. Bayak Chuol Puoch, together with church and community leaders, began initiating peacebuilding dialogues. These gatherings were emotional but transformative, preventing violence within the diaspora community and showing the healing power of dialogue. This experience inspired Mr. Bayak to extend peacebuilding beyond refugee communities and into South Sudan itself.
In 2014, he returned to South Sudan on a peace mission, traveling village to village with a team representing different tribes. Together, they spread the message that peaceful coexistence was possible. It soon became clear, however, that peace could not stand alone; it needed to be nurtured alongside sustainable development. Communities required not only reconciliation but also practical support to rebuild their lives.
This realization gave birth to NILECAPD as both a peacebuilding and development organization. By 2017, programs had expanded to include child protection, nutrition, and agricultural capacity-building – laying the foundation for a holistic approach where uniting families, strengthening livelihoods, and fostering peace go hand in hand.
Today, NILECAPD has grown into a registered humanitarian and development organization in both South Sudan and Canada. With a dedicated staff of over fifty professionals and thirty long-term volunteers, it continues to deliver life-saving assistance and long-term development programs across multiple states in South Sudan, while engaging with communities in Canada.
From its humble beginnings in community dialogues, NILECAPD has become a beacon of hope, promoting peace, dignity, and resilience through its strategic focus areas—humanitarian aid, education, WASH, health and nutrition, food security and livelihoods, protection, and shelter.