A Director's Blog – South Sudan

Sally France, East Africa Director and I travelled from Uganda to South Sudan and we are the first within Music for Life to have official Republic of South Sudan visa stickers in our passports!

We were delighted to be met at the airport by Manase Lomole Waya, the Deputy Governor and Minister of Education, Science and Technology (Formerly Minister of Agriculture), of Central Equatoria State, one of the 10 states of South Sudan.

Manase is very quick to say that he had been given this position because of the collaboration of Friends in the West/Music for Life and HASS (Humanitarian Assistance for Southern Sudan) and all that was accomplished in Liwolo during the civil war years.

It is unheard of to establish 15 primary schools, two secondary schools, a Teachers College, Skills Training School and medical clinic, to see a community grow from a few thousand to nearly 50,000 during a civil war!

Since Sally and I were last in Sudan two critically needed wells have been dug and are providing much needed clean water for the community.

On Wednesday Sally and I visited Bright Star Secondary School. We entered a few of the classes while they were in session, and met the Headmaster and teaching staff. Two of the teachers were former students from the schools we had helped establish. It was very special to meet them.

Former students from the schools we helped build are the very ones teaching throughout the Republic of South Sudan!

We weren’t able to visit Kajo Keji Teachers Training College but we did learn that the school has started bringing in unqualified teachers (who are currently teaching in primary schools) for “in service” training during the holidays.