Term 3 news

Dear all,

I am so happy to report that donors came forward and there were enough funds for all the students to return to school for the second term, in spite of my worries.  Thank you all so very much.  Similarly, I have received enough funds to send the students back to school to complete their school year. 

The third term begins on 14^th September.  Two of the deaf students, Joel and Vibrant, will be sitting their Primary Leaving Examinations.  Next year, they will go to the next-door secondary school for the deaf.  Depending on their grades, they will either be in the academic or vocational training stream.

I was able to visit Nimule during this school holidays and see at least some of my former students, which was very nice.  It felt like a real homecoming. 

In Nimule, one student, a boy called Jackson Otto, is now in his final year of primary school and coming up for his PLE.  Jackson has always been a very fast learner.  In fact he comes from a family of exceptionally bright children. 

Most students in South Sudan start school very late compared to western countries.  There is no mandatory school age, so families tend to send their children to school as and when they can afford it.  Many never get the chance at all.  As you will see from the photo of the students who are already at secondary school, they are all virtually adult.  This is the same across South Sudan and is a reflection of the lack of education available to them when they were small children.  I am glad to say that their headteacher speaks very highly of their academic standards.  The positive side is that they are all really keen and deeply grateful for the chance to study.

Jackson Otto

Jackson is the exception.  He started school at four and is now twelve.  He looks so small compared to his classmates.  He has two elder brothers who are already at secondary school through your support, and always top of the class.  His family is desperately poor.  His father died a few years ago leaving his mother to struggle alone with six children.  All except the eldest attended Cece Primary School.  Jackson’s mother has been providing for her family by walking very long distances to cut firewood, then carrying it back to Nimule to sell at the local market. 

Queensland Primary School, which Jackson is now attending, has announced that all Primary 8 students must stay in the boarding section for the final term so that they are available for extra lessons.  This is a reflection on how the vast majority of schools in South Sudan (and also in Uganda) burden the families of their students with financial problems.  To expect families to send their children to boarding school is to cater only for the rich.  As it is only for one term, it seemed very wasteful to buy all the boarding requirements, when Jackson will not be a boarder at secondary school.  Samuel, my agent in Nimule, went to see Jackson’s mother to see if she was able to provide any of the boarding necessities.  He was shocked by what he found.  Several of her children are sleeping on one single, very old and broken mattress.  Jackson’s mother has had an injury so that she is no longer able to carry the firewood she was relying on.  Samuel said that she looks very weak.  Clearly it will not be possible for her to help.  Instead, buying the necessities for Jackson’s final term will benefit the whole family.  That will mean a metal storage box, mosquito net, sheets, mattress, a bucket and basin, plate, cup and cutlery, as well as toiletries and stationery.  The costs of his food at school will increase as he will eat all his meals at school.  I am sure you will agree that it will be money well spent as the items will benefit the whole family after Jackson has finished primary school.

At the deaf secondary school, Aluma will be taking his final national vocational examinations in knitting this coming term.  He will be the first of my students to finish school. At the start of the course two years ago, I bought a knitting machine for him, which will belong to him and his family once he finishes school at the end of this year.  I am hoping that he and his family will be able to start a small knitting business, which will make Aluma a useful member of the family.  Again, it is a desperately poor family.  As I have posted previously, in addition to being completely deaf, Aluma has one paralyzed arm, semi-paralyzed leg and suffers from epilepsy.  One snag is that there are aspects of the knitting process that Aluma cannot do alone because of his disabilities.  I am hoping to find someone who can coach his father in ways to assist him.

Thank you once again for your generous support to these very needy students.

Please feel free to contact me on rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com.  I am always happy to answer any questions or give more detail.

Hope for a better life

Dear all,

We are all living in very unsettled and rather frightening times internationally.  We do not know what is around the corner whether in Europe or Africa.

From the point of view of my work for South Sudanese children, their education is endangered.  This leaves aside all other essential aspects of their lives, such as healthcare, regular meals, peace and development of their country, which look more and more hopeless. 

I worked with marginalized children in South Sudan for twelve years from 2013, when things were still looking more positive.  I have watched as the situation of the poorest has become worse and worse.  Parents are completely uneducated and unable to earn enough to provide food regularly let alone pay for their children’s education.  The South Sudanese economy has collapsed so that it is not possible to get money from the banks – even for those who have accounts.  (I stopped using a South Sudanese bank years ago, fortunately before things got to the current pitch.)  Corruption is rife and officials prey upon the most vulnerable as well as institutions such as schools.  As you know from previous posts, my school was directly affected and eventually forced to close. 

I am desperately trying to continue the education of at least some of our children; the deaf, blind, disabled and those who completed primary school in our school and need secondary education.  All these students need a future.  In fact they ARE the future of their families and their country.  From the first year in which we had a primary school leavers’ class, 2023, our school had the best results in the Nimule area every year.  I am immensely proud of that fact and you, as the donors who made it possible, should be too.  Other schools scraped by with a lot of exam malpractice, but our students were highly literate, keen learners who all passed really well.  They have high aspirations for the future.  I cannot bear to let it all go to waste. 

As if all these problems were not enough in themselves, aid to South Sudan and Africa more generally is drying up.  I see a very bleak future for our pupils, with whom I have lived so closely and come to know so well.  I have been told repeatedly by their families that without my fundraising they would have been left completely without hope for the future.  This of course, means your kind donations, without which it could never have happened.  Coincidentally, the motto of our original school, Cece, was ‘A hope for a better life’.  It seems very ironic right now.

I know the world is in a state of crisis and insecurity.  This is causing governments to prioritise weapons over international aid, and even small donors to hold very tightly onto their purse strings.  Please can I ask you to go against the flow? 

The school holidays finish at the end of May, and I do not have nearly enough money to send all the children back to school.  Of course, it is possible that the boarding schools in Uganda may be delayed in restarting by the fuel crisis (I am only guessing), but the schools in Nimule will not be affected.  If that happens, there will be a breathing space for fundraising, but otherwise I might have to prioritise which children are most needy, which will be impossible as they are all in great need.  Please help in whatever way you can.

Please feel free to contact me on rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com.  I am always happy to answer any questions or give more detail.

Happy Easter to you all

Dear all,

Happy Easter to you all!  I made a trip to Gulu, taking a much-needed short break from teaching.

The five deaf primary students, Jackline, Vibrant,
Joel, Alafi and Jennifer (L - R)

Over the Easter break I travelled to Lira to see the deaf students at both primary and secondary school.  On my way I bought a live chicken and rice as an Easter present for the primary children.  Their faces lit up when they saw the chicken.  I had previously sent money to do the same to the secondary school at their request.  Nobody buys ready-prepared chicken here.  The climate and lack of regular refrigeration is against it.  It is good to know that a short time ago the chickens were living a completely free-range existence with a natural diet and no growth hormones, reproducing at a great rate.  I apologise to any vegetarians who may be offended.  Here, the basic diet for the majority of people is vegetarian out of necessity, so chicken is a huge treat.

I am glad to say that I was able to pay the remaining school fees for all the students last month, so it was good to be able to give the schools the bank receipts as proof on the same trip.  The schools were both happy with our children’s progress.  They have another month of school to go before the end of term holidays when Samuel will fetch them.  All except Vibrant and Joel.  Vibrant and Joel are now in the final year of primary school and will have an extra two weeks of lessons at school in preparation for their Primary Leaving Certificate exams at the end of the year.

The great news is that my final Primary 8 class got their leavers’ results.  They all passed really well, even those for whom I had had some fears.  Their marks ranged from 87.2% down to 71.8%.  They started at their new secondary school in Senior 1 towards the end of March.

Jamila, Peace and Lamunu (L - R)

I was in Gulu for Easter Sunday and visited three girls at their boarding school for the first time.  These girls were members of my first Primary 8 class at Cece Primary School in 2024.  They did not go to Kings Way Secondary School with the boys of the class because they were accepted for full scholarships by an American charity called Drop in the Bucket, who specialize in girls’ education.  They are now in their third year of secondary school.  They used to visit me in Nimule in holiday time, but that is no longer possible as I am no longer there.  One of the girls sent me a Facebook message saying how much she missed me.  Realising that I had time to see them at Easter, I said that I would come and visit.  I really appreciate their wish to still be in contact.  I had a very close relationship with all my pupils in that class because I was their classteacher from start to finish.  Like all my Primary 8 classes it was a very small class, so I was able to give a lot of time to each of them.  I have not been responsible for their fees or requirements up until now, but when I visited they told me that the school is requesting smartphones for each of them so that they can learn research skills.  Apart from lessons, the phones would be locked away by the admin department.  Their families are too poor to be able to assist and Drop in the Bucket has refused saying it is a parental responsibility. So, naturally enough, they asked me.  The going rate for one smart phone is around 200,000 Uganda Shillings or roughly £40.  Is anyone able to help?

The two blind children, Mary and Bernard

Next month will be holiday time for three weeks.  Schools resume on 25th May and I will need to pay school fees for all at Kings Way and Queensland in Nimule, as well as the deaf and blind children in Uganda.  Based on last term’s school costs from all these schools I can expect to pay around £5,200 for next term.  This includes a deduction for one-off costs for new school uniforms and other costs for new students as these are already paid for.  There is an enormous shortfall: right now Opportunity Through Education has £850, which is nowhere near enough.  If you are able to contribute, I would be most grateful.

Please feel free to contact me on rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com.  I am always happy to answer any questions or give more detail.

Back to school

Dear all,

Since I last wrote, I am now back in Africa.  I travelled through Uganda to South Sudan, narrowly avoiding the Ugandan elections as I arrived in South Sudan just before they began.  What I had not expected was that the Ugandan government would impose a complete media and network blackout for around a week, starting just beforehand.  This hampered communication across the country, so that it was impossible to communicate with anyone in Uganda. The Salesians in Palabek were completely incommunicado so that I was unable to organize my move there.  Even once communication became possible it took weeks for the rector of the Salesians to be able to communicate with his staff and get things up and running again. 

The positive result was that I ended up with plenty of time to hand over to Samuel and visit the two schools in Nimule where my pupils have transferred, Kings Way Academy for the secondary students, and Queensland Primary School for the most needy of my primary students.  I paid all the necessary costs of the secondary school, but ran short when it came to the primary school, although I covered the essentials. 

School in South Sudan began at the beginning of February.  Originally Ugandan schools were due to start at the same time, but the Ugandan government announced that due to the elections schools were to start a week later on 10^th February.  Why this was necessary is beyond me, seeing that the elections were held on 15^th January and all polling was over.  What do schoolchildren have to do with politics?

The South Sudan primary leaving exam results for last year’s primary schools have not yet been released, so first year secondary students are left at home waiting, unable to attend school yet.  Last year, our students had to wait up until April.  The Ministry of Education has promised that it will be quicker this year, but who knows?  Marking only started nationally last week. 

I moved to Palabek at the beginning of February.  It was hard to leave Nimule, where I have lived for over twelve years and have established many friendships.  There are no amenities such as easy public transport, banks and shops in Palabek, so a lot of adjustment is needed. I am still finding my feet here. 

The journey from Palabek to Gulu, which is necessary in order to get funds for all my students in Nimule and the deaf and blind students, is not at all easy.  It involves taking a ‘taxi’ filled beyond capacity with passengers and huge amounts of goods.  The taxi only sets out when completely full with the passengers crushed together and vast amounts of luggage tied to the roof and on people’s knees.  It travels slowly and carefully for 145 kilometres along very rutted tracks to Gulu, stopping along the way to offload and reload.  If the taxi leaves at 8am, it may reach Gulu around lunchtime.  On the way back it is worse because such care is needed by the driver in the pitch-black night.  Last week I made the mistake of taking an afternoon taxi back to Palabek.  It left at around 5pm (I had waited for the taxi to fill up since 3pm) and arrived at 11pm.  There was no onward transport, but fortunately a member of the Salesians came with a motorbike and took me back to the school.  He said that sometimes the taxi doesn’t arrive until 1am.  Never again.  In future if I need to go to Gulu, I will stay overnight and return the next morning.  This description is of travel in the dry season.  In the rainy season, which is immanent, the roads will become as slippery as an ice rink with mud and journeys will become even longer.  Last year on a visit to Palabek I experienced the vehicle being stuck in deep mud for ages, while we unloaded everything and all the passengers pushed until we eventually got out of the mud, covered in mud ourselves.

Some of the deaf students about to travel to school.

Last Saturday Samuel collected all the deaf students, both primary and secondary and escorted them from Nimule to Gulu to meet up with me.  As mentioned in my last post, the primary students were transferring to a new school in Lira to make things easier for Samuel.  He told me that they were clearly delighted to see each other again, exchanging big hugs when they met up and signing a lot to each other.  Life during the holidays is very isolated for these children, who have no means of communication with their families.  My original plan had been to start a deaf school in Nimule.  If that had been possible, we would have taught the families to communicate in sign language.  If only.

I withdrew funds and we spent the afternoon buying all the necessary school requirements at the excellent local market.  I had already partially paid their school fees through a bank on a previous trip.  As with Queensland Primary School in Nimule, the rest is reliant on more funds arriving.  I booked a ‘private hire’ taxi to take all nine students, supervised by Sam, and all their luggage direct to school in Lira early on Sunday morning.  Fortunately for them the road to Lira is paved, unlike the road to Palabek.  Private hire sounds very luxurious but in fact it is very reasonable.  To take ten people complete with five large metal boxes, five mattresses and all their personal belongings and stationery in backpacks and carrier bags 110 kilometres costs a little over £50.  It is a great deal more practical than carrying all the luggage to a bus station, taking a bus to the centre of Lira and then finding means to go to Nancy School for the Deaf, which is about 5 kilometres outside the town.

The two blind students have travelled to their school in Gulu with their parents.  All their school fees and requirements have been paid for.  Bernard and Mary did extremely well at school last year, and I still haven’t got over the joy of witnessing their progress when they returned to Nimule last December.

It is great to have got almost all the students back to school.  As mentioned, it remains to complete their outstanding school fees.  It also remains to see last year’s primary students go to secondary school, which cannot happen until their leaving exam results are released.  I think another £1,500 will cover everything.

Please feel free to contact me on rebeccamallinson1@gmail.com.  I am always happy to answer any questions or give more detail.