UNDER TREE SCHOOLS

 

 

The story of Under Tree Schools so far

Southern Sudan has been in civil war for most of the time since its independence from the UK in 1956. The people of the southern part of the country, mainly black tribes, were seeking independence from the northern Arab-led Government based in Khartoum. The war caused the breakdown of the whole of the infrastructure of the south, including its education system.

Revd Joseph Ayok-Loewenberg, who comes from the South of Sudan, and is an Anglican priest, was determined to provide schooling for children in the area of Aweil South County in the West of the country. A permanent school would be overrun by the fighting, so in 2000 he created schools which could be packed up and moved if the fighting came close.

There have been schools in three places since 2000, and thousands of children aged 7-15 have received teaching that they would not otherwise have had.

The latest school was in Panthou, Aweil South County, in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal state, in an area of marshland to which families fled to evade the war. 1300 children were registered at the school in 2006. The 29 teachers have been volunteers.

Since 2000, Joseph and Karin have raised funds to equip the schools with books and writing materials, and to fund their maintenance.

They have been focusing on the area in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal which during the war was very difficult to get to, and also now is not easy to reach. The one road leading there is slowly being worked on, but during the rain season heavier vehicles can't pass.

Many NGOs work in Juba or along the borders of Uganda/Kenya as the infrastructure offers for expatriates a little bit more. Very few go further into the country.

They have also ensured that funds have been raised to sponsor the education of some older secondary students to about GCSE or A level standard. The students have gone to Kenya or Uganda, because of the lack of secondary schools in Southern Sudan.