A Graduate’s Bold Pivot
Gal Gony Gatluak holds an accounting degree from Mekane Yesus Management and Leadership College, yet his office today is a roadside stall piled high with charcoal sacks.
He launched the venture on 1st July 2025 with five bags, wagering that perseverance, not job boards, would secure his livelihood.
Economics of the Black Gold
In Juba’s Suk Harnab market, a large sack now costs suppliers 50,000 SSP, forcing Gatluak to retail smaller bundles at 2,000 SSP to remain accessible.
He tracks prices like an analyst, noting last month’s bundle price of 1,500 SSP, evidence of inflation driven by fuel shortages and transport levies.
Family First, Profits Second
The charcoal earnings finance medicine, tuition and food for two wives and several children sheltering in Ugandan and Ethiopian camps, ending his reliance on relatives’ remittances.
When job searches stalled, kin loaned seed capital. He calls their gesture a reminder that collective support, not pride, anchors South Sudanese resilience.
Mindset over Stigma
Gatluak rejects the notion that charcoal is ‘dirty work’, arguing that unemployment is dirtier. ‘There is no bad business; only bad attitudes,’ he told The Dawn.
He is expanding into dried fish from Bor, proof that diversification rather than desperation guides his strategy.
Youth Perspectives and Policy Hopes
Peace activist Bush Buse applauds such ingenuity, warning that ‘pride does not pay bills’ and urging peers to swap idleness for enterprise amid conflict-strained job markets.
Buse calls for faster disbursement of youth enterprise funds, claiming the creative economy could absorb thousands if capital flows matched ambition.
A Lesson Beyond Charcoal
From degree holders to school leavers, Gatluak’s story offers a simple equation: resourcefulness plus community backing can convert marginal trades into respectable careers.
As South Sudan rebuilds, such micro-enterprises may illuminate a grassroots path toward stability and inclusive growth.