Encouraging Girls Education in Warrap State.

Before I could start doing anything by myself, I will need to team up with members within this group to initiate and build a community resource center for various activities to enhance, support, and empower girls & women. That’s in respect to make a strong network and more common ground for ideas from different areas. Importantly, continuing to be a teacher in school is a key aspect to encourage girls’ education as a role model. My presence in Emmy Robbins primary school was very important according to the positive way communities respond and the support they show all the time. My support to those girls was visual. I have some girls in (P8)come to my house every Saturday to just chat in a general sense about education and its benefits, encouraging them to finish high school for several reasons they can just understand. They know our Governor is a woman, many women are ministers and MPs at the state and national level.

I witness a situations where some families refuse to take their daughters to a school where there is no female teachers in a fear that their daughters may be impregnated since no a single woman to talk to both of them the girls and teachers. Girls also fear such schools saying that teachers beat them hardly than boys. However, after I go to Warrap, those are things I need to put in place first. I will need to meet all the female leaders including Governor Madam Nyandeng to have a possible means of meeting these girls regularly to encourage them. Aware them of importance of education in their communities as women, on health wise, and about their own rights in the society. Apart from that, weekly programs on girl’s education and empowerment will be held at the state radio, hosted by the female ministers and us the groups in collaboration with the Women Union members/office.

 Our community in Warrap have already got a strong passion that girls have more benefits than what the cultures says about them. The how to maintain and retain those few girls in schools, is to create a variety of programs that will engage them and keep them positive about life and busy as well. This include evening classes and recreational activities where they will be engaged in some competitions, and those who win, will be given gifts. Inside school, activities and supportive programs like distribution of school clothes, shoes, bags and other small needs for girls will be provided as these are part of problems hindering girls to go to school. And we already have such programs and it was actually attractive to many girls. Many families were also happy about that.

PLANS UPON RETURN TO SOUTH SUDAN

         Maintenance of this group to have a network in their respective states is a priority to keep the hope and goals of SSHIELD alive, and that will allow us to collectively and effectively practice the huge experience and knowledge we have gain here. So upon my return to South Sudan, I will team up with some members among this group to initiate and build a “community resource center” where various activities will be carried out to enhance, support and empower girls and women. These activities will include adult education programs, recreational activities, hand and machine knitting training, awareness programs on gender related issues. This was prior to the best lesson I have learn from “leadership” class about the ‘vital voices’ of women across Africa who have actually changed millions lives of many women through such activities. Another goal is to effectively participate in ‘curriculum development processes’ with the ministry of education in designing the syllabus or unified curriculum as a very effective way of keeping solidarity among the diverse community. That was as well prior to the lesson I have learned with Dr. Keith about ‘history of curriculum development’ in different countries based on good merits in history and how it’s helpful to keep people as one in the country. Generally, I have learned more of hard work and tolerance.

Impact of conflict on secondary education

            In fact, conflict destroy properties, life of people and affects students’ learning in particular. It causes Permanent mental and physical disabilities like injuries, deafness due to gun noise, psychologically scared and traumatized. After conflict, students become upset minded in schools loosing appetite and motivation during studies and becoming more disturbance. Frequent closure of school results into delayment of academic achievement of student, whereby many students end up repeating class or stays in one class for two to three years instead of one academic year. Friends of such delayed students who went to other countries to study will be ahead of them while they are behind, and that as well results into inappropriate expected school age. You may find that a 25 year old gentle man is in a class with a 17 year old boy which in turns makes them upset and depressed. And that’s a total inappropriate secondary school age. And sometime a student can be older than a teacher also, which causes disrespect and continual misunderstanding between students and teachers.

The Hull House - Jane Addams the peace Icon

Am very grateful for all the visits to ASC, Shed Aquarium, Museum and the Hull House. I have seen, experience and learnt great things for the first time in my life as far as Jane Addams is concern. I was amazed by this woman who gave up her life for the sake of the poor, sacrifices for social services rather than own pleasure. She dreamt to do something useful in the world, she share the idea with her friends and work for that idea by building the settlement house. Her combined philosophy of feminist sensibilities with un-waving commitment to social improvement through cooperative efforts, lead her to envision democracy, peace and social justice as mutually reinforcing. Am really motivated and inspired by Jane Addams and I cannot wait to have those plans down and try my best. I was surprise of the Hull House which was not only for educational activities but a center for civic programs, cultural and recreational such as clubs for girls and children, Art gallery, theatre, music school and etc. they said it was also an employment bureau – a space to help individuals think independently. It was a key to unlocking the diversity of city through collective interaction and mutual self-discovery through recreational and imagination in which I understand its aspects as a challenge to ‘industrialize educational system’ that we are stacked to, and which focuses individuals to specific jobs or positions. I think the idea of a hull house back home is very important since it has improved the lives of millions, it can also do in South Sudan and if we try it will be a great achievement.

Dear colleagues, Jane and her friends manage to build hull house and later were supported, can’t we also try to do something if not exactly like Hull House but close to that?

Midwest Conference of the CIES.

Intercultural education and sustainable development in the Indian Trans-Himalaya/Kashmir.

The topics presented on the conference were really very interesting and informative. i have learned a lot. I attended different topics and I was more interested with the presentation of Payal P. Shah, who presented the intercultural system in education in Ladakhi. There was massification of national system of education replacing locally based village education by non-Ladakhi people. The language used was Urdu, non-Ladakhi teachers only at school, failure of 95% of Ladakhi students because of language and colonization. Ladakhi people were not happy about that and they thought of making change in the system by all means because of their children. In 1988, Ladakhi cultural movement against that system was founded to reform the educational system to make it more locally effective and relevant. The movement mobilized many sectors in the area to support the idea of the reform in education for the interest of the Ladakhi children and promote their language as well as protecting their identity as Ladakhis.

At the long run, the movement succeeded and become very powerful, providing opportunities for critical engagement with environmental and sustainable development issues in the face of globalization. Ladakhi people managed to make their own curriculum with their language such that children learn about not only others cultures but Ladakhi cultures, history, arts and etc. finally Ladakhi & non-Ladakhi were able to get engage in conversation and reflections that enable them to critically consider which culture to be consider and which to be decolonized. They become simultaneously recognizing & engaging with forces of collaboration while maintaining their cultures and language. what about that? don't you think it could also help in South Sudan regarding the uprising issues of language of instruction? what about ignoring differences of languages peacefully and come up with a common language for all?

South Sudan Approach-history curriculum

Depending on what I know, the background and current situations even after the expected peace, I think South Sudan will need to take a balance and neutral approach that ignore divisions and includes the past, struggle and freedom, identity and progress. It’s due to the fact that, when it’s neutral and balanced it will be the mirror where all South Sudanese will see themselves, all cultures  reflected, common goals, aspirations  and values that are acceptable and recognized by all. Therefore that will bring about further unity and call themselves “We are South Sudanese”.

My experience at Bloomington

My experience at Bloomington

Indiana is such a beautiful State by its green natural look that I can’t describe at moment. Before visiting any Country, your imaginations and conceptions about that country can be very different from the reality on ground. I was so confused and shocked on how people can dress; oh my God! People are almost naked..!!. Even greeting, people don’t shake hands like we do. No public buses and motor-cycles that can take you everywhere you want like in Africa. Nobody can give you a lift on road and you cannot cross the road anyhowly. Things are total different, but people are very peaceful.