October 15, 2009

October 13, 2009

I have never felt better about Africa ELI in Sudan than I do now. So many fantastic opportunities and people coming together.

My apologies for slow communication. Our internet and generators are still out at CTC – though they may be fixed soon. Today I’m using UMCOR’S internet and power.

SCHOOL NEWS
Yesterday was lovely! I spent the afternoon at the school with the girls. The microscope is a hit. However, it requires power, and there is no power at Yei Girls. So, I brought it back home with me and will try to charge it (somewhere). I read the American letters and our girls are preparing responses. I read aloud while they were sewing sanitary pads. On Saturday, the about a dozen girls came to the house to sew pads. There is nothing better than the sound of the girls filling up the house with talk and laughter. They also sang “Happy Birthday” to Colin!

The S4 girls went to Kampala last week for exams. During term 2, no one was admitted overnight to the hospital! We are happy about that. The well still needs attention at Yei Girls. Flowers are blooming on campus. And, veggies are growing in the garden.

RABBITS
I have pictures!….of the momma & papa rabbits and the babies!!!! Will try to get those sent. They are adorable! And!….more babies are expected next week! We are raising rabbits at Yei Girls! Today, a hutch is being built so they don’t become dog-food. (literally).

PARTNER NEWS in Yei
Health Net / TPO is taking good care of our girls on an “as needed” basis. Liberty FM deserves a million thanks for hosting the radio debates. All the students are crammed into an itty bitty studio where the temperature is more than a thousand degrees, but the Liberty folks are generous with their time and attention for us.

The impact Africa ELI has in the community is far-reaching. It is not uncommon for us to receive requests from young women who desire sponsorship from Africa ELI. One such letter was handed to me this past weekend. Here is the text:

To the Office of Africa ELI Yei:
Dear Madam Anita, With honour and respect to your office I submit my application to your office for the following reasons. I am Sudanese by nationality aged 17 years old in Senior One. The reasons why I apply is because I don’t have someone to support me in my education. I am an orphan and am staying with my grandparents. But they have no power of supporting me in education, but my uncle in our clan told me that I should be married by an old man. I refused. I came to Yei Girls and I am the one who paid my school fees. I use to be a house girl. But I have interest to continue with my eduation. I will be very grateful if you put my application into your consideration. Thanks.

You can help us respond positively to young girls like this. Please give to the Girls Rising scholarship campaign. This girl could join the other Africa ELI-sponsored students in receiving a quality education to help improve her future.

Would like to write more, but UMCOR staff is leaving and I need to go too. Will try to be in touch from Juba.

Thanks all for your support!
Anita

Last week I attended an education workshop with Diane and the Yei Girls Boarding Secondary School headmistress, Rita. It was held in the South Sudan capitol of Juba. Approximately 100 people attended.

There were educators from Juba University, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, project managers from other NGO’s. A variety of people from the education sector in South Sudan focused for 3 days on how to train, and retain, quality teachers. For obvious reasons, quality teachers are important. But for a place like South Sudan emerging from war, the statistics compel us to stay the course and work toward scaling up the educational systems. To improve the statistics, attention must continuously be given to producing quality graduates who become quality teachers.

Here are some of the South Sudan numbers provided during the workshop:

According to 2008 data provided by EMIS, 1,327,892 pupils were enrolled in 3,152 schools.
398,536 pupils were learning under trees.
26,438 teachers provided instruction.
Less than 40% were professionally trained.
Less than 7% are female.

To increase the number of trained teachers, the following programs have been implemented:
1) Pre-service national teacher training institutes (TTI)
2) In Service trainings
3) Fast track teacher training program (FTTP)
4) Accelerated Learning Program
5) Intensive English Course for teachers
6) Distance education

The Government of South Sudan (GOSS) is moving to upgrade the performance of students and teachers.

Africa ELI is here to help. We join in the effort to produce strong, new leaders.

From Yei Town,
Anita

September 29,2009

We all know that when girls stay in school, everyone benefits: marriage and pregnancy are delayed until adulthood, eventual wages increase by 25 percent, and more than 90 percent of those eventual wages are reinvested back into families. But are you aware of the transformative power of the sanitary pad?

Each year, Sudanese girls will stay home from school due to shame about their menstrual cycles. Many girls never return to class. Africa ELI girls are making “Comfort Kits” to improve student truancy and promote girls’ education. Everyone is benefiting.

The Comfort Kits include six washable pads, three pairs of underwear, soap, Vaseline, a comb, and a note of encouragement from one of our girls.

Each Kit costs $25 to produce. How many Kits can you underwrite? 1, 5, 50, 500? Think big. A $500 donation produces 20 Kits and puts 4 girls through school. That’s an impact!

Sunday September 27, 2009

“Welcome Home!” was one of my favorite greetings this morning at the Yei airfield. A small population of residents, volunteers, and aid workers gathered around the multitude of land cruisers parked at the end of the dirt airstrip. Brief exchanges were made between old and new friends to swap current phone numbers, comment about the progress in Yei, and coordinate visits in the coming days.

Trees have been cut down along the Yei main road. Planted in the 1800′s, the stumps are lying along the roadside. They will likely become firewood and charcoal for cooking. With the removal of the trees, the red dirt road has doubled in width. This allows for greater safety of pedestrians and cyclist sharing the road with the growing number of vehicles driving in and out of Yei town.

I arrived in town to find some of our Africa ELI students diligently sewing to increase the number of comfort kits in stock. The suitcases carried earlier this year by the South Carolina team have been transformed into inventory containers. Handmade sanitary pads fill them up.

My colleagues, Diane and Colin, gave me a tour of our current residence. We have graduated from the tents of 2008 and the mud huts of early 2009 to an honest-to-goodness real brick house. We have electricity in the evening and running water, most days. The new place definitely gets a “thumbs up!”

I’m willing to confess that I napped most of the afternoon. The sun, travel, and time zone changes contributed to some “horizontalization.”

Unpacking has been completed and I’m happy to say that all the supplies arrived safely! Even the glass slides to be used along with the new microscope for science class successfully survived the 5 airplanes it took to get here.

From Yei Town,
Anita

P.S. Stay tuned for lots of pictures in the next post.

Tucked inside my bulky, big green suitcase are letters that have been written by young people in the United States. They are addressed to our Africa ELI students. I think you might enjoy reading excerpts from them. It gives a glimpse of the stories and questions I will be sharing with our Africa ELI girls in coming days.

Brenna from Wisconsin writes: “I love to hang out with my friends. They mean the world to me. During the summer I am really involved in 4-H and I love to show cattle. When I show it reminds me of a beauty pageant for cows!…I have 3 jobs so I work all the time. One of my jobs is to milk cows and I really love it…What is your favorite subject in school? What do you like to do in your free time?”

17 year old Julia writes: “I am in the 12th grade – which is the last grade in high school. I am very excited to graduate because then I will start college and move away from my parents. Not that I don’t love them, I just can’t wait to be independent for the first time in my life. It’s going to be an exciting adventure!”

Adriana from Indiana writes: “My school is a boy + girl school. It is not a boarding school. We go from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., then go home. I want to know about your foods. What kind do you have? In America we eat grains, meat, and dairy products. We also eat veggies and fruit.”

Mackenzie from Wisconsin writes: “The things that I am a part of in school is Future Farmers of America (but we just call it FFA). I am also in choir because I love to sing. I’m not involved in any school sports but I go to the games and support my friends and cheer them on. I am also involved in a dance class after school…I am out of things to say but I’m sure once I give my letter to Anita I will think of lots more!”

Kaitlin from Illinois writes: “In my spare time, I like to read and write. I am also a girl scout. I help others by performing community service. Plus, I’ve been told our cookies are really good too.”

9th grader Tori writes: “I will be taking a Driver’s Education class this year. I’m very excited to be going into my first year of high school. I go to the library often so that I can check out new books to read…I loved my week of Sudan classes and I look forward to hearing more about all of you and doing what I can to help kids all over the world. I thank you for your wonderful influence and I can’t wait to hear back from you.”

We will use these letters in a variety of ways – as English lessons, writing practice, and to introduce our girls to the many kids in America who want to make a connection with them.

I wonder, what are YOUR questions for our girls? Drop me a line and I will gladly ask them on your behalf. Stay tuned to the blog for their responses.

From the road,

Anita

Hey crew -

I just left Nairobi, Kenya. Stayed at “The Heron Hotel Limited” – really nice with wireless. Ironically, the hotel replaced their water heater this week, so I’m already transitioned to cold showers in preparation for Yei.

Flights have been smooth. Watched too many movies and slept the rest of the time. The new school microscope has made it all in one piece so far!

The weather in Nairobi was about 65 degrees and beeeeauuutiffffulllll. Now I’m in Entebbe, Uganda at our favorite lodge – Frank’s Place. I’ve been reunited with my pink, green & blue rain boots, which have been stashed away at Frank’s Place since the last rainy season. Since my luggage was so overweight when I was checking in, I sacrificed the new black & white floral boots. Sigh.

Oh! ….One of the best parts of the week? ….Going to a wedding celebration of a Sudanese woman who just became the 4th wife of a Sudanese man. Traditional dancing, food, and the men & women attending the event separated into different rooms. About 60 people in attendance. I spent about 4 hours with Sudanese women in the kitchen and tucked away out of site from the menfolk. Many were relatives of my friend & fellow traveler, Jimmy, so I learned a lot of “family news.” Surprisingly (hardly) they said to me, “You are so social!”

Oh! ….A nice greeting was sent from the Universe….saw a shooting star in the sky the other night.

I’m well and hope everyone else is too. Can’t wait to be reunited with Diane and our students.

From the road,

Anita