Mary's Story

This is a picture of Mary, who recently participated in NESEI’s radio debate program. During the debate discussions, Mary was quick to voice her opinion and build strong arguments to help her team. Smiling and smart, she was confident and persuasive in the radio booth, never shying away from stating her points with precision and eloquence. So, it came at no surprise when the young men and women who participated with her in the program voted her “best speaker”.

What’s surprising is how Mary got to the radio program that day.

Mary attends a high school on the outskirts of Yei Town, on a major road with an end point at the Ugandan border. She lives in a small village off another major road that leads out of town, in the opposite direction. Anyone who has visited Yei before is familiar with these two roads. Even with 4 Wheel Drive vehicles it can be slow and challenging to navigate between these veins of red dirt that crisscross downtown Yei. Every morning, Mary begins walking on one of these roads and 10 miles later she arrives at school.

To get to school on time, Mary wakes up long before dawn to begin her journey at 5am. She leaves the mud hut she shares with her family and follows a small footpath that zigzags through tall blades of grass and teak trees. After nearly a mile, the path joins the main road, which is peppered with growing potholes and is calm in the pre-dawn quiet. In a few hours, this road will be congested with motorbikes and women trekking between villages with water and firewood balanced on their heads. The only traffic on the road at dawn is Mary and a few of her classmates.

As the morning sun begins to grow hot, Mary arrives at campus. Her school resembles that of many schools in Sudan. Some buildings lack roofs, secure walls, desks or blackboards. Hundreds of students huddle in classrooms whose mud and stick walls shed spider-webbed light across their crisp school uniforms. Mary makes her journey to this humble school each day because education is a priority to her. Twenty miles a day is a small price for a high school education that can allow her to better provide for her family and community.

Each year, Mary walks the distance between New York and Los Angeles- twice. But she doesn’t have to. For around the same cost of renting a car for a weekend road trip, you could help Mary attend a quality girls’ boarding school just outside her village for an entire year. Instead of spending her spare time walking, she could spend it studying. You can help girls like Mary by supporting the Girls Rising Campaign, which provides financial support and educational programs to young women in Sudan. It doesn’t take much to make a major difference in the life of a girl like Mary.

Sometimes that difference can be measured in miles.


In the photo: Mary stands proud and smiling, with her village as her background.

Grace helps her family

Grace John arrived at NESEI’s school in May 2008, along with her 75 new classmates. Before coming to NESEI’s school, Grace had attended an Arabic pattern primary school and spoke no English. Her parents, who also don’t speak English, wanted their daughter to learn English and about healthcare, so that she would have a better chance of getting a job. By January 2009, after two terms at NESEI’s school, Grace is almost fluent in English, and has learned valuable agriculture and health skills. Here is an excerpt from an interview a NESEI staff member had with Grace and her mother at their home in Juba, Sudan on Jan. 26, 2009. Grace helped interpret for her mother during this interview, although her mother could understand a few sentences from the English Grace has already taught her.

-What changes have you noticed in your daughter since she enrolled in NESEI School?
Grace’s mother: English! Thank you so much NESEI school. My daughter speaks English now and she has also taught me and her little sisters. Grace is also more responsible now [and] is more focused in her daily life and house chores.


-What other things do you notice are different in your daughter Grace since she joined the NESEI School?
Grace’s mother: Grace’s health has improved because she is attending a health science school (smiles)Even at home now she cleans our compound and always tries to keep everyone clean especially the young ones.
Grace: I have learned over the past year in my health science courses that a person is prone to many diseases if they don’t keep their environment or themselves clean. So I try to keep our house clean.

-What are some of the lessons you have learned during your past year at the NESEI School that you have brought home back with you?
Grace: English: I teach it to my mother and my little sisters. First aid: I have taught my mother about first aid. Now she knows what to do if an accident happened at home where there is no doctor. Agriculture: From my agriculture classes, I now show my grandmother and neighbors how to plant things like tomatoes and vegetables and taking good care of them for better yields. Some people even come to me asking for advice!

-What are your career plans after the NESEI School?
Grace: I intend to continue up to college to become a doctor or health professional. Why?Because I have the opportunity to develop on the health skills I am getting at NESEI’s school. But most importantly because there is a need for health professionals in S. Sudan and there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the health sector.

First year at NESEI's school a huge success

The final academic term at NESEI’s school in Sudan has come to a close, after an incredibly successful first year. In Sudan, unlike America, the official school year ends in December for the holidays.

Prior to the break, students worked hard to prepare for their final exams, studying in groups in the afternoon shade or asking their teachers questions outside of class time. After the exams had been graded, the 10 highest academic achievers of the year were awarded for their efforts with a special assembly, attended by students and staff. When the commotion of exams and award ceremonies subsided, students packed many of their belongings and returned to their families for the long break. (Above, five of the students who received academic merit awards smile for the camera with Headmistress Margaret Juan and Site Manager Colin Nelsen.)

It was an emotional departure for all of the students and NESEI staff, with the girls saying tearful goodbyes to their friends and teachers. For many students, this will be the first time they will have seen their families since arriving at the school in May. But it was evident from all of the shared hugs and tears that many students felt they were leaving another family at the school.

“The students were very excited to be going home, but most of them cried as they hugged their friends,” said Communications and Recruitment Officer Diane Birungi. “They all promised to return to school next year.”

Students took their final exams in 11 subjects, including English, history, math, health sciences, agriculture, biology, and business studies. After testing was completed, the students prepared to leave the campus. Those who live nearby were picked up at the campus by their parents and relatives, and taken home to the surrounding communities.

The students who live farther away, and who received scholarships from Winrock International to attend NESEI’s school, traveled on a chartered, secure plane, paid for by Winrock, to their homes in Aweil, Abyei, and Wau, all north of Yei.

The first academic year was a major success for NESEI’s first school, given the enthusiasm and effort of its 75 young scholars. All of the young women who attended NESEI’s school benefited from the Girls Rising Campaign, which provided important things like financial aid, classroom supplies, school uniforms, healthcare coverage, and three hot meals a day to every student. This important campaign allowed students to focus on their studies in a secure and supportive environment, instead of worrying about how to finance their education or having enough to eat. NESEI intends to continue this vital campaign in 2009, given its positive impact in the school’s first year.

The students will return to school for the second academic year in the spring. NESEI intends to increase student enrollment in 2009, to help more young women in need of a secondary education.