Dear all,
As I write I have just had an email from a kind donor giving an ad-hoc donation in addition to his monthly one. It could not be better timed. I am really struggling with fundraising at the moment. In spite of appeals, there has been very little increase in monthly donations. Our monthly running costs are a great deal higher than the monthly donations. Previously the Gift Aid donations, especially on building work and the sponsorship of the deaf children, made up for this shortfall, so that we have always been able to pay our teachers at the end of the month, but not this time.
We have reached a point where (if it were not for this inspired donor) there would be no funds to pay our teachers and cooks in December. We had to make use of money intended for building work for the November payment.
We had an emergency meeting of our Parent Teacher Association at which it was decided that we have no alternative but to start charging school fees. This goes against the entire mission of the school, which is intended for the most poverty-stricken families who cannot afford school fees. The sum agreed per child was 10,000 SSP per term, which is around £20, and is intended only for salaries, not for other costs. This is less than other local schools but is still a huge sum for our particular target group. Also, most of our pupils have brothers and sisters in the school, so that the family might have to pay three or four times as much. I have softened the pill as much as possible by saying that they are welcome to pay in instalments and that in cases where there is no possibility of paying, to come and see me.
Our teachers are very unsettled, as I am unable to tell them how much they will be paid this month. I fear that we could lose some teachers. It will not be possible to re-advertise when we are so uncertain financially. At the agreed rate of 10,000 SSP per child, all teachers and cooks will inevitably face a pay cut, at a time of rapidly rising inflation and just before Christmas.
Assuming that all parents are able to pay the new school fees, there will still be other costs, such as chalk and stationery, any necessary repairs, firewood and soap. Of these costs, firewood is the biggest expense and is necessary for cooking the food which we receive from the World Food Program. Our newly elected SMT has recommended that we ask families to send their children with firewood – another burden for poor families. The children are very gamely coming armed with sticks.
Right now, we are avoiding teaching in the afternoons, so that pupils and teachers can eat at home, which is impacting on teaching time. This is intended to give our teachers a chance to earn something in the afternoons.
Cece Primary School has been the only non-fee-paying school in South Sudan and is very much needed. A walk through Nimule during school time demonstrates the huge number of children who do not get the chance of an education because of poverty.
If you can help with monthly donations, please contact me on rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com (not the old hotmail address, which was irretrievably hacked some time ago). I will then send you a gift aid form. Please do pass this message on to any other people who might be able to assist us. Any suggestions of how to proceed are more than welcome.
