Josephine and Suzanne’s Story

Josephine and Suzanne are young mothers attending evening school in Yambio, South Sudan

Josephine and Suzanne are friends. They both gave birth a month ago and have recently returned to school. They are not allowed to attend classes in regular schools, because of the need to breastfeed their babies, but they have the opportunity to do it at Yabongo evening school in Yambio. The evening school is mostly attended by adolescent mothers, pregnant girls, and adults who have jobs to attend in the morning. “I don’t want to end my education because of my new-born” says Josephine. 

Suzanne has two more children and says that she wants to become a doctor in the future. “When I finish secondary school, I’ll enrol in university” Suzanne affirms. They both assure that their husbands support their educational plans. “They like us going back to school” Josephine explains as she hands her baby back to her young husband who currently studies at university himself. 

Both mothers are happy because they can breastfeed their babies while attending classes. While the teachers give lessons, mothers normally place their babies on blankets next to their desks, but often have to stand when their children demand attention. “This is a bit hectic” Suzanne admits, “but after a year or so I’ll be able to leave my child at home with my mother and return to regular school.” 

Josephine and Suzanne confess that they don’t have much support with the daily housework. “We spend every morning taking care of the children, washing clothes, cooking and cleaning the house.” When do they have time to prepare for their lessons? “Late at night, using our small cell-phones to light our notebooks.” 

Peter’s Story

Headmaster, South Sudan.

To reach Thoanom, a very small village on the far side of the swamps from Ganyiel, teachers need to travel by canoe, taking around 30 minutes and costing around 20 South Sudanese pounds (more than US$1). Peter, the school’s headmaster, takes the canoe early each morning in order to be on time to open the gates of the school. Other teachers need to walk from much further distances. “Some spend nearly two hours” he admits. This is, in his opinion, the reason why there are very few female teachers in the school. “Officially we have only four women teaching the students, but even they don’t come regularly because of the many challenges”. 

Peter is proud of his school because the number of girls has increased exponentially over the past five years.

“It’s a big success for our community. Nowadays, nearly half of all 948 students in the school are girls. The support from organisations such as Windle Trust International has been crucial to make this success happen. I am sure that things are changing within the community, because some years back, girls used to get married at very early ages, but this is becoming less frequent.

Monica’s Story

Volunteer teacher in Aber, South Sudan

A few miles north of Rumbek is an area called Aber. In the local Dinka language, Aber means “persistent”. Persistent is the way of teaching in Aber’s schools, the way of the students that never want to miss classes, and the way of Monica, a 34 year-old volunteer teacher in Aber primary school. When she was younger, Monica was only able to finish primary school herself. She married early and has two children, but is lucky to be supported by her husband. Now she tries her best to teach classes in the students of her small village, but wishes to save some money to allow her to finish her studies and become a professional teacher.

Monica is the only female teacher in her school. She is aware of the unbalanced situation in most of the schools in South Sudan.

“Many women were married very young and forced to stay at home. Having a girl in the family is an opportunity to make money - there is a traditional transaction of exchanging cows for brides.”

For being a volunteer teacher, Monica earns an incentive of five hundred South Sudanese pounds each month (less than US$4). “It’s a support, but not enough to cover the high prices in the market” she explains. Her husband is currently jobless, so she sees teaching as a good opportunity for a better future. “I just need an official certificate and to apply to become a civil servant in the Ministry.” 

Amina’s Story

Amina is a postgraduate programme scholarship recipient from Kenya. This is her story.

After completing her studies in Agroforestry at Bangor University, Amina was keen to use her newly acquired skills and knowledge to not only improve her life, but also to serve and impact her community. Amina returned to Kenya and resumed work at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). She worked here prior to her study in the UK, but returned to a promotion to the position of Research Officer and a transfer to the KEFRI office in Garissa town, which is her place of birth. Amina admits that the training from Bangor University has provided opportunities for her to serve her community in a bigger and better capacity, which has ultimately impacted positively on the lives of those around her.

Amina now runs a mentorship programme for girls in secondary schools in Garissa County that seeks to bridge the gap in access to education for girls from her community. Activities involve mentorship to encourage more girls to undertake STEM courses, providing guidance on higher education opportunities, and supporting girls to navigate and overcome the cultural barriers to the education of young women. 

She is also keen to continue with her research and is particularly passionate about research that addresses climate change issues. Amina was part of a flood risk mapping training in Garissa where she tabled her intervention innovation presentation “Planting bamboo species for the protection and conservation of water and soil in the River Tana”. Her innovation was subsequently adopted. 

Amina is grateful for the Windle Trust International Postgraduate Programme; an opportunity that she says gave her a “global focus”. She looks forward to collaborating directly on mentorship, career guidance, training and school activities such as tree planting as a give back initiative.

Amal’s Story

Amal is the eldest of 9 children. This is her story.

Despite successfully completing the first year of her degree in Accounting and Administrative Systems at the University of Blue Nile, Amal needed to end her education. She was unable to meet the costs of university registration and tuition on top of her living expenses and the needs of her younger sisters. 

Like so many others, Amal was set to drop out to support her family, sacrificing her own opportunities to ensure that her younger sisters could be supported to complete their secondary education. Thanks to the Windle Trust International White and Blue Nile Scholarship Fund however, Amal has now secured funding to complete her degree. 

The scholarship covers her tuition and registration fees for the duration of her degree, as well as providing a maintenance allowance for transport, stationery, meals and other basic needs. This allows her to focus on her own studies without worrying about how she will finance it and also relieves financial pressures on the whole family, increasing the chances for her sisters to complete their education also. 

Amal is dedicated to using her opportunities to benefit others. As well as committing to supporting her sisters through their education, she also wants to help her community in Gisan to understand the importance of education, particularly for girls, and plans to campaign for better awareness upon completion of her studies.