An Update from Juba, South Sudan
Parents and other community members watch a lesson through a school window. This community is eager for educational opportunities.
“Everyone in the community wanted to bring their children to Good Shepherd Academy.”
Juba, South Sudan
“We live in a time and in a place and in a culture where we need to look at our self-centeredness and how much of our life revolves around us. The giving of alms helps us in this. It helps us to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto the Lord’s mission in the world.”
- Archbishop Foley Beach, Anglican Church of North America
This Lent we are exploring several ARDF projects that still need funding. As you practice the discipline of Almsgiving or are collecting change for your mite boxes, consider the needs of our partners.
Today on this last Wednesday before Easter, we look at a project in South Sudan where we are partnering with Good Shepherd Academy, a Christian primary school.
Years of civil war have disrupted all sectors of life in South Sudan and have destroyed the few schools that existed. Continued tensions have continued to force families from their land, creating even more refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs). About 70 percent of South Sudanese children ages 6 to 17 have never set foot in a classroom. Less than 10 percent of children complete primary school. The few schools that exist have poor infrastructure. The shortage of classrooms and textbooks leads to dismal learning outcomes which means the cycle of poverty continues.
Good Shepherd Academy (GSA) was founded to bring a Christian education to marginalized children in the Juba region, including those relocating from refugee camps. The school is administered by a board of directors with Christian values and experienced teachers. But its key strength is strong collaboration with parents and the community.
GSA is committed to provision of faith-based education open to all children. No child is segregated based on culture, tribe, race, religion, region or geographical locations. GSA offers an affordable quality education with emphasis on faith, character and competence. In the polarized communities of South Sudan, this is a force for peace.
Needless to say, this approach is highly desirable! But the school cannot meet the needs of all the students who wish to attend. Parents have begun to move to this area citing that enrolling their children at GSA is the reason they have chosen to settle nearby. The school needed to grow.
And the school is expanding! An ARDF grant of $96,000 is providing 4 new classrooms to accommodate 160 new students. The first two phases of the project are complete. As the pandemic eases, the government has allowed students to return to class. At first, only the older students came back to class. But it is expected that the younger students will return later this month.
How was this project selected?
This project was brought to us by the Rev. John Chol Daau. Many of you may know him from his time at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. His story has been recounted in the book, God’s Refugee. John’s vision for peace-building and his strong oversight of all of the ministries he has founded make him an ideal partner.
Beyond offering a quality education in a country where this is hard to find, GSA’s vision is to promote peace and reconciliation in the context of the South Sudanese history of civil war. Good Shepherd Academy is a place where a diverse group of students come together to learn. Children from different tribes and communities, different religions, and different income levels all study together.
Through these efforts to create such a unique environment, the school is contributing to national development, stability, and peace.
Please join us in supporting this project.
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