The New School Year Begins

Dear all,

Group photo at end of last school year celebration

I have now been back in hot, sunny Africa for a month and a half. While in England I met with a good number of donor friends which was a great chance to answer their questions individually. It has been three years since last visiting, so this was a major purpose of my visit. I do appreciate you all so much. Without you, my mission to help all the children whether in deaf or blind schools in Uganda or in school in South Sudan would grind to a halt leaving a lot of children without any chance to continue their education due to their families’ poverty. Thank you so much to those who made donations while I was in the UK and those who continue to assist.

Increasingly, lack of schooling is the trend in South Sudan, as people become ever more desperately poor due to hyperinflation. At the same time school fees have soared to unaffordable levels. Even the more educated people, working in government-paid jobs, have not been paid for around 16 months now. Clearly, none of us are capable of solving the education problems of an entire country, but at least we are able to set an example of what can be done. My mission is fortunate in benefiting from foreign currency donations, which means that the impact of hyperinflation is very much less than on the local population.

As mentioned, civil servants have not been paid for well over a year. This is now impacting on those who did their final exams in November 2024. Last year, the final exam results for secondary pupils were not released until August, leaving leavers unable to provide certificates that they had completed secondary education, and therefore unable to go to further education. This year the problem has widened so that the results of primary leavers are also delayed. The examiners refused to mark until they were paid. The Ministry of Finance has now given them a third of the figure requested, so that marking can begin. This scenario is in spite of the fact that parents across the country paid for the exams at the time of exam registration. Where has that money gone? No prizes for guessing. I am left feeling that the whole education system in South Sudan is grinding to a halt. My P8 class of last year are waiting at home to hear when they will be able to start secondary school, even though teaching is supposed to have started at the beginning of February. Secondary schools across South Sudan have no Senior 1 classes.

The problems caused by the recent wild change of US policy towards humanitarian aid is likely to contribute to the already dire situation. My ‘Rebecca’s eye view’ as a religious person, is that this is the time for alms-giving and volunteering to stand forward. It is very understandable that impersonal giving through internationally-collected taxes, does not bring people any closer to showing real love of neighbour. I shudder when I hear politicians talk about humanitarian aid as though it is all about ‘soft power’ and not leaving space for Russia and China to build their own soft power bases, not about real care. We are apparently living on very different planets.

We are now much closer to having feeding in school. After my plea in my last post, a charity called St Francis and St Clare Charity has very kindly donated £1,500 to build a kitchen. This came completely out of the blue. The Cleary family has also donated towards feeding the children. Please can I ask for an increase in donations so that I can sustainably pay at least one cook and provide the necessary ingredients on a regular basis. Work on the kitchen will start very soon.

The main regular expenses throughout the year are monthly salaries for our teachers and also the termly payments for the deaf and blind pupils in Uganda.

I arrived back a week or so before the beginning of the new school year, and sprang immediately into action. I communicated with the secondary school where my P8 class is to continue their education. I checked on the registrations for Liberty Primary School and the newly secured classrooms (which have been very well done). Ayuel, my headteacher, worked very hard while I was away, supervising the work and communicating with the teachers and education department.

Then I gathered the primary deaf pupils to take them back to school in Uganda, and paid the school fees and travel expenses for the blind children so their parents could take them back to school. Alau accompanied me to the deaf primary school and is now starting his year as a student teacher for the deaf.

I then returned to take the secondary deaf pupils to their school in Lira. I was accompanied by the father of Aluma; Aluma’s health needs made it sensible to ask his father to come and see the school for himself in order to put his fears to rest and talk to the staff personally. Paul will sleep in the next bed to Aluma as they are good friends and Paul is well aware of his needs. The secondary school has a school nurse, as well as matrons for both boys and girls. The original plan was for Aluma to learn tailoring, however, now that the school has assessed him, they believe that he will not be able to do this. Instead they want to teach him to knit sweaters using a knitting machine. The knitting machine will cost around £160. I asked that the machine can be Aluma’s personal property so that it can give him a start when he finishes his course. This was agreed. I have already sent the money, but this has been an unexpected extra expense, so I have robbed the school to do so in the hope that a donor will come forward later on. Paul and Lillian have joined Alice in the academic section and I have been told that they are settling in well.

Once again, a huge thank you for all your generosity. There is no need to wait for years to speak to me or ask about how things are going. My email address is rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com. I am always happy to hear from you.

Rebecca Mallinson