Southern Sudan Education Project #3
July 1st, 2005
Southern Sudan Education Project
23 june 2005
Yomchiir, Bor South County, Upper Nile Region, Southern Sudan
There is no time here. What would be done in one hour in the states takes one day here. A drive to the market is an all day event. Partially because the roads have washed away from rain. Partially because there are so many people to greet and talk with along the way. We met with the village elders today to explain our purpose here.
The community is extremely grateful for the school supplies and the food. They thanked god for our visit and for our liasion with the people of america on their behalf. This particular village has said that they will educate every child if we build a school. They will educate their girls. They even said they don’t need cows if their children are educated. They have seen the value of education in their children who live as refugees in america dn they said that they see the value of educating girls through what I have done on their behalf.
This is why we have chosen this village as our partner in this project. They have vision. We will work slowly - their eyes may be slightly bigger than their cattle camp at this point. There may be a shock to their cultulral system if all the boys are pulled from the cattle camp and all the girls area pulled from the homes tomorrow. But they see the vision.
They want to be leaders in this country and they see education as the key to that goal. Our original plan is still in place. Start slowly. Make agreements and commitments for each step. Ensure that each step is successful. Agreements with the community in Sudan and with partners in America. Our goals also remain the same. We will bring the remaining supplies. We will build a permanent school building. We are already making critical connections with people on the ground who can aquire supplies. We are also making critical connections with program directors for adult education, gender equaliuty, and recreation and sports.
It is as if someone came here ahead of us and set up everything in advance…