It was the dreams of three former Lost Boys of Sudan – James Lubo Mijak of Charlotte, NC; Ngor Kur Mayol of Atlanta, GA; and James Manyror, near Denver, CO – that led to the founding of the Nyarweng and Gumriak primary schools in South Sudan. Today, through nonprofit Mothering Across Continents and supporters of the Raising South Sudan project, these schools serve primary school students grades 1-8 in Ruweng State. Many students are orphans or children whose families were displaced by past war. Community and government leaders describe these schools as essential to maintaining hope for quality education. It costs more than $120,000 each year to support the schools. For example, nine months of salaries for 25 teachers and staff: $85,500; new desks for Gumriak: $10,000; an annual scholarship for one high school student: $800; and new English language books and training materials: $7,400. And in South Sudan there are always surprises...
The Nyarweng and Gumriak primary schools are standouts on Ruweng State's national exams for eighth grade students. Nearly 40% of students are girls in a part of South Sudan where, historically, 90% of adults can't read and only 1% of girls graduate from primary school. These schools were the first in their area to provide a daily meals program to teachers and students.
In 2018, girl graduates of Nyarweng and Gumriak primary schools became the first girls in Ruweng State to receive scholarships and attend the prestigious Loreto Girls Secondary School in the city of Rumbek. In 2020, scholarships for 10 boy graduates from Nyarweng and Gumriak made it possible for them to start high school in the capital city of Juba.
To keep Lubo, James and Ngor's original dreams alive, the Raising South Sudan project always needs great friends – individuals, schools, churches, and service-minded civic groups. The essentials of desks, educational materials and teacher training require sustained generosity from kind donors in the US until South Sudan is in a position to educate the Nyarweng and Gumriak students without outside support.
Please make a tax-deductible donation, today, and share the story!
Raising South Sudan is a project of US 501c3 nonprofit Mothering Across Continents
info@motheringacrosscontinents.org