Happy New Year, from NESEI

Dear NESEI Friends,

May this season be one of peace for you  and your loved ones. Thank you for your continued support of NESEI these past few years.  We're looking forward to a new year of abundance and joy, and wish the same for you, wherever you are!

 

Below is a holiday message and annual update from Co-Director Abraham Awolich.

 

We, the Sudanese people, and the NESEI team wish you Happy Holidays! We hope this letter finds you healthy and well during this season. As part of our commitment to you and our mission, we would like to keep you up to date on NESEI. We have been thriving over the last two years, because of your support! I would like to highlight some key achievements that have been made in the course of the past year:

-In May 2007, we participated in the World Bank Development Marketplace competition. Our project was selected as one of 22 winners out of 3,000 applicants from 65 countries.

-In September 2007, a local VT donor made a substantial gift to support NESEI over the course of the next three years.

-Also in September, Katie Hatch and Robert Lomude started full time on the ground as our field coordinators. They will facilitate the construction of the school as well as the recruitment of staff and students.

-We will open our doors of our first school - the New Sudan School of Health Sciences - in May 2008 in Yei, S. Sudan!

-Last month, NESEI started accepting applications for teachers and staff.

-A Ugandan NGO has donated the services of 5-6 secondary school teachers for a year of service to the school.

NESEI is working with a student at Harvard Graduate School of Education to help with the creation of an effective curriculum for the school.

-This fall, NESEI embarked on its first national speaking tour,  "Sudan: A Future beyond Genocide."  The tour has taken us to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Williams, Bates, and many other universities and colleges around the northeast, creating awareness and raising funds. The tour will continue to other schools in the spring.

NESEI's New Year's Wish List

Having highlighted the key achievements of this year, it is worth noting that these achievements would not have been possible without your support. With these successes, however, come more challenges, and we are looking for your continued support, especially this holiday season.

Our goal between now and May 2008 is to raise $ 180,000 for the school to fully function. Here is just a part of our wish list!

-$ 31,500 for scholarships for 70 girls ($450 per girl, per year).

-$45,000 for our farm and  livestock program.

-$ 40,000 to build 4 dormitories.

-$ 25,000 for the library.

-$35,000 for the computer lab.

Every single dollar or a minute of your time that was donated to NESEI made a difference in 2007. We are eternally grateful for your help and support! Our appreciation would best be expressed by continuing to work hard to get those children to school.

As Sudanese working for NESEI, it only gives us joy and inspiration to have wonderful friends and supporters like you on our side. Our promise to you is to deliver the dreams of NESEI to the people whose lives would be transformed by education and training.

Together, we can,

Abraham Awolich, Co-Director

Notes from the Field: November

Notes from the Field:

It is November, and being the month of giving thanks in the United States, I thought I would do the same here in Sudan. I am currently in Juba, South Sudan meeting with World Bank officials, different United Nations agencies, and other NGOs working in Sudan. Everywhere I go I am thankful for all of the much-needed work NESEI is doing. Children are in the field playing football when they should be in school. Mothers who discover we are building schools quickly show me their children and ask to have them attend. The need for education is evident everywhere.  Every step I take, I am thankful for the interactions, for the words of support, for the beginnings of a new Sudan that NESEI is helping to build.

I met some foreigners working with in anti-corruption efforts within the government of Southern Sudan. They were intrigued by NESEI's approach to education: a commitment to not only provide a quality education to our students, but also allow individuals to develop skills in particular areas that the country desperately needs. A trip to the local hospital in Juba is a stark indicator that community health workers are vital, and largely unavailable, to the local population. What struck me most about the men from the government was what they said when we parted ways: "You are doing something useful for Sudan. Our work will be useful in 5 or 10 years, but your work is useful now."

We can all be thankful for our contributions towards building peace through education in Sudan. Thank you for helping NESEI to bring education to this region.

In Peace,

Katie Hatch, Sudan Co-Director

Presiding Episcopal Bishop Offers Support to NESEI

On Nov. 2, The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, came to Burlington to speak about the Millennium Development Goals, as well as lend support to NESEI's efforts to meet these important development standards.

Jefferts Schori, who had a career as an oceanographer before becoming an Episcopal priest, is the first female presiding Bishop of the Episcopal church. Her talk, which took place at Ira Chapel at UVM, focused on the importance of the MDGs and their intrinsic connection to Christianity's original tenets.

NESEI Co-Founder Atem Deng, who was introduced by Vermont Bishop Thomas Ely, preceded her talk with a welcome address that brought attention to the dire situation in Sudan, and the need to support organizations such as NESEI.

"Our Christian community in Sudan has experienced a lot of oppression," said Atem. "Now we are trying to rebuild our country and we need the support of the global Christian community, particularly in the U.S."

All donations from the event went to benefit NESEI's programs in Sudan. 

Notes from the Field

Katie Hatch-Notes from the Field:

Since September, I have been in Uganda piecing all sorts of logistical parts together. Uganda is still a place many Sudanese call home until returning to Sudan is possible. I have had chances to reconnect with many Sudanese I met in 2005 on my first trip to Africa.

 

Often the conversation turns to Sudan and what is hindering them from returning home. What I hear reinforces my belief in NESEI and encourages all of our efforts to build peace through education in Sudan. I rejoice even further when I know that NESEI is creating the next generation of human resources for Sudan, starting with the health care sector. I have come to understand, once again, that education and health care are at the top of the list of what is missing from Southern Sudan, and a major  reason why many Sudanese are still in Uganda.

 

One family I met had gone back to Sudan, but all five family members became ill with worms and malaria. Returning to Uganda was the only option for them. They are now receiving medical care, and the father is hoping to return to Sudan in the next month or two. His hope is that his family can join him in the future, but until there are schools and other needed services this will not be possible. 

 

We can, and are, influencing the state of development in Southern Sudan. Education is the first vital step, and NESEI a key player. I can not thank you enough for your support, dedication and energy to allow peace and education to shine throughout Sudan!

 

In Peace,

Katie Hatch, Sudan Co-Director

Our New Website has Launched!

After months of designing and programing, our new website is live! It is still a work in progress and we would love to hear your thoughts!

Get Involved- Sponsor a Student Today!

Dear NESEI Friends:

Thank you so much for your interest in NESEI's work, and your desire to help us in our efforts to bring education to Sudan.

We are committed to promoting and providing education for young women in NESEI schools  because 93% of women in Sudan are currently illiterate. You can help NESEI by working with your community to raise money to send a Sudanese girl to school by April. It costs $450 for school fees, healthcare, food and other necessary costs. Help us help these girls. Read on for fundraising ideas!

Contact Mari Wright at nesei.communications@gmail.com for more info or to help fundraise! You can also visit our site, www.nesei.org, for more information.

How you can help send a young woman to school:

-Donate Today

-Sponsor a screening of "God Grew Tired of Us," an award-winning documentary about Sudan's "Lost Boys" at your home, school, community center, or place of worship. 

-Hold an Africa-themed dinner at your campus: serve East African dishes and inform your  community about Sudan's civil war and rebuilding efforts.

-Throw a letter-writing party to get out the word about the need for education in Sudan: get together with your friends and write 10 letters each to community members about our cause.

-Organize a community charity concert: ask campus bands to join forces for a concert to raise money to "Send Sudan Back to School."

-Do something else that's innovative. It doesn't take much to raise $450, but it makes an incredible difference in the life of a Sudanese child.

-Volunteer with NESEI or participate in our internship program.

Contact Mari Wright for more ideas about getting involved or to organize a fundraising event in your community. Email her at nesei.communications@gmail.com. Thank you!