Programs

During two decades of civil war, there has been little or no schooling for children in southern Sudan. In August, 2005, HELPSudan hired Abraham Akech Kuol, a Sudanese refugee living in Kenya, and sent him to Bor, in southern Sudan to start a school. Before we recruited him, Abraham was a deputy principal in Kadugli Elementary School in a refugee camp in Kenya. Upon receiving our request, he resigned his position and accepted our request to go to Bor in southern Sudan. The cost of hiring Abraham is $100 per month, an amount that covers teaching materials (pens, pencils, exercise books, and text books for level one thru level seven were purchased in Nairobi before departure), as well as living expenses for his family.

So far, Abraham has done well not only in recruiting students, but new teachers as well. There are now 14 additional teachers who are working with Abraham, and are volunteering WITHOUT pay. Their hope is that HELPSudan will soon be able to hire them as well, and send them funds to start more schools. These volunteers are DOING something about the need, and hoping they may be assisted in the future.

Furthermore, Abraham has been offered an old building from the local governing militia that can be rehabilitated into a suitable school when the financial resources become available. Up to now, he and the others have been teaching out-of-doors or under thatched roof huts that local villagers volunteer to construct.

It has been our goal all along to hire more teachers and to begin building or rehabbing schools, so for us these developments are very encouraging.

Our first school now has 1,000 students from 1st through 8th grade.

Future Programs

HELPSudan is also developing plans in the areas of health and water treatment, including the distribution of mosquito nets to fight against malaria and the digging of wells to provide clean drinking water to the thousands being repatriated into southern Sudan.