HIV/AIDS Outreach in Juba Sponsored by the Women's Education Partnership

Sarah from NWERO Speaks

Sarah from NWERO ( national women empowerment and rehabilitation organisation) talking to over 70 students at an outreach on the Juba University campus. This one of a series of 12 outreaches we are promoting in the town and out in the country. 

In the feedback many students said that his kind of information giving open forum was much appreciated.

HIV/AIDS facilitators

Sarah with the trained NWERO team selected today to deliver this important outreach.  A university   lecturer who attended said how valuable this outreach was for students who are the future of South Sudan. 

Sarah answering questions towards the end of the session about relationships

Adult Literacy with NRC in Terekeka

The partnership is launched with the Norwegian Refugee Council and WEP to deliver and monitor 2 adult literacy classes for women in Terekeka. 

The journey was tough on very poor roads to a neglected part of South Sudan. I am celebrating in Terekeka with Ayoume Elly, the NRC local coordinator who with his team has set up our joint project. Ayoume Elly used to be head of a girls school in Yei and understands our aims well. 

Peter our director with Ayoume Elly

To visit the adult literacy project - women teaching women basic skills in speaking and writing. The rural two-class project is organised and monitored by the Norwegian Refugee Council and sponsored this year by a generous WEP donor. We were amazed at what we saw after travelling for 4 hours to a place where locals have had a troubled past. Terekeka is a forgotten area with many education and social problems especially for women. The literacy project, taught by two women teachers from the community who are being trained locally, serves 99 adults, 68 women and 31 men. 

A forgotten area

Women led the question and answer session

It was a large class taught by Veronica. The curriculum will include literacy and numeracy together with life skills ( teaching among other things, peace education, gender issues and trauma counselling ) and if the project runs for two years , those attending will make the equivalent of 4 years progress at primary school. We have funding for the first year at present.

Learning is serious business

Adult literacy is important to the life of the community

The class thanked us for not neglecting them - they said they really wanted to learn, to speak English and to be able to read and write.

Eager to Learn

Women are very keen to learn

The questions were about how to balance time between child care, cooking and coming to class. Also in a hot place they asked for water to be made available more easily as the classes run from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. 

Attendance is very important 

Babies slept at the back in goat skins

A woman combines childcare and learning effectively   

The women of the upper class greeted us with a song

 

Basic Adult Literacy in Lojora Terekeka

Penny congratulating Abalo Vicky, the teacher of the class for first level speaking. The men and women have difficult writing and English is very much a foreign language

Penny congratulates Abalo Vicky

Rosa and Martina at Juba University

Rosa and Martina are willing to work hard to succeed

Rosa ( left ) came south from Khartoum in the middle of her science studies. She wants to be a microbiologist but the course is hard as there are hardly any facilities  for practical work at the university. However, now in her fourth year, she is a strong person and on her own found  work experience in the laboratory of the  South Sudan Beverage Company at the brewery. Her advice to her sister WEP scholars " Be serious about your studies and don't  give up."

Majdolin at Juba University Celebrating being a Women's Education Partnership Scholar

Majdolin celebrates with a smile

Majdolin is in her 4th year at the university studying medicine. She started in Khartoum on a Together for Sudan scholarship then moved South after the independence of South Sudan. She had no chance of going to university without the scholarship. "There are problems to overcome - sometimes we have no books but since being a teenager I wanted to be a doctor and I am continuing. " Her Women's Education Partnership scholarship ( WEP is our new name ) friends elected her as their representative when we met them and Majdolin plans to make sure our group of girls stay in touch with each other and support each other as they study. 

Women's Education Partnership Students in Juba

Women's Education Partnership University Students in Juba

Seven of our scholarship undergraduates come together at the university. I addition, on the left, Donna is a scholarship graduate who after studying law, is now working in the judiciary. She has aspirations to become a judge and her advice to her friends was "Be serious about your studies and finish your education - never give up despite the problems. Thank you for the help. I would never have made it without my scholarship ".