It was the inspiration of three former “Lost Boys of Sudan” – James "Lubo" Mijak, Charlotte, NC; Ngor Kur Mayol, Atlanta, GA; and James Manyror, Denver, CO – that led to the dream of the Nyarweng, Gumriak, and Aliap primary schools in South Sudan. As children, they survived war, epic walks to safety, and life in refugee camps. They became US citizens and asked for support to build schools back home in the world's newest and most fragile country. The dream is still very much alive thanks to donor support through nonprofit Mothering Across Continents.
The Nyarweng and Gumriak primary schools serve 800 students and teachers grades 1-8. The Aliap primary school is under construction by the state government with plans to open in early 2025. Schools supported by Mothering Across Continents historically rise to Top Five performance where they operate.
The operating budget to keep the Raising South Sudan schools open is less than $200,000 per year. That's about $250 per student. In 2025, with sufficient funds, it will be possible to continue adding desks, printing practice exams, and conducting mock drills, and acquiring more books and tablet-based resources for English, science, and math. A long-standing wish is to hire an artist/educator to paint the school buildings with words, numbers, and images that make them “talking schools.”
In 2023, the first group of students to graduate from Nyarweng and Gumriak and then a boarding school in the capital city of Juba took their high school national exams. They passed with flying colors, and most entered a special two-month university training course on how to manage primary school classrooms. The Teach for America model inspired us to create a way for them to give back but with an approach adapted for South Sudan. With new knowledge and skills, they returned to the Nyarweng and Gumriak primary schools as teachers. Each received a computer tablet pre-loaded with instructional content. After two-year teaching fellowships, some will apply for scholarships to university.
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Raising South SudanSM is a project of US 501c3 nonprofit Mothering Across ContinentsSM
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