End of the school year

We wish all our supporters a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

My trip to England is now over and I have been back in South Sudan for a few months.  I apologise for the silence since then.  I have been overwhelmed with work and even now am struggling with a broken arm.

I want to remind readers that South Sudan is one of the very poorest countries in the world.  In addition to poverty, the level of ignorance is extreme and there are constant upheavals due to war.  Many things taken for granted even in other developing countries are unknown here.  I have lived in South Sudan for six years and have therefore acclimatized and now take a lot of these problems for granted.  For this reason I have seldom written about them.  My omission has been highlighted by a recent visitor.  South Sudan really is bottom of all the league tables, whether in poverty, education, morality, health, sanitation, livelihood – you name it.

Our children are from very neglectful and often abusive families.  Theirs is not a Disney-style, rose-tinted glasses type of poverty.  It is full on.  Behaviour is a huge problem, copied from the behaviour all around them, even from their families.  There are no social services to step in.  The police are untrained, corrupt and are as violent as everyone else.  They often confuse traditional and statutory law.

Even the teachers, who are all South Sudanese, are often a problem because their own life experiences are the same as those of the rest of society. 

Time management is a big challenge as people here lack the concept of time, apart from the obvious rising and setting of the sun. If it is a cloudy day everyone is late.

We work on what we can, but it is a slow process and often resisted.  For example, when children fight we listen to their reasons for fighting, warn them not to repeat, ask them to forgive each other, then if the matter is still not resolved, we send for their parents.  As often as not, the parents then accuse us of not beating their children.  Some have removed their children from the school for that reason.

We have several pieces of good news.

A small charity in the UK called Pencils for All has provided us with a playground consisting of swings, a roundabout, see-saw and slide.  Due to the situation here it has had to be surrounded by a fence which looks more suited to a prison.  Metal is very much coveted, and so the playground has to be well protected if it is to remain ours.  It is lovely for the children to have this play area.  They are so excited.  Watching them is very uplifting.  There are very few playgrounds in Nimule, so this the first time for many of them to experience one.  The same charity has also provided much needed learning aids and stationery.  They have been so generous and we are all deeply grateful.

The girls football team

Our school took part in its first football match against another school.  We did not have football kits and had to borrow from another school, who charged us for the privilege.  Pencils for All has donated money to buy two sets of football kits for future use.  Our girls’ team won the match 1:0 and the boys drew 0:0, so we are off to a good start in our football career.

The final exam results showed that 67% of children passed.    We have now closed for the end of year holidays and start again with a new Primary 6 class in February. 

Please can I ask for regular donations through Opportunity through Education.   We are in great need of a boost in our regular income as we need to employ new teachers next year to cater for an increase in the number of classes as we will have our first Primary 6 class.  We also need to feed the children. 

We also urgently need to start building work on a new block of classrooms for 2021.  I know this seems very early, but building work is costly and we need to start fund-raising now.

I am happy to send gift aid forms to anyone interested.  My email address is rebeccamallinson1@hotmail.co.uk.  It is also now possible to make donations online through Virgin Money Giving.  Please be aware that it is necessary to put ‘Cece Primary School’ in the comments box, as Opportunity through Education also collects funds for other causes.  Virgin Giving charges a hefty admin fee on large donations, so please send direct to Opportunity through Education if you are considering sending over £1,000.