The past month has been a whirlwind of activity in more than a few ways! I traveled to Uganda and Sudan for 10 days at the end of October, where among many other things I caught a bug. It took me a couple weeks to recuperate, but now that I have, it's back into the full swing of things!
First, let me congratulate my mum Susan on a wonderful event that raised over $14,000 for Special Projects at Sud Academy! Her "Style in the City" event, thanks to it's sponsors and attendees, raised more than enough money to build a water catchment tank. The hefty balance remains in the bank for more Special Project initiatives, the most important of which I will discuss in just a bit... When I walk into school and see students lined up at the tap waiting for their turn to fill their cup or wash their hands, it makes me proud that the London community is responsible for making such an impact in another community, half way around the world. It's impossible to describe how appreciative the students are to have access to free flowing water--- now we must simply wait for the torrential rains to come to fill up the beast of a tank! Thank you sincerely to all those who supported the event.
As mentioned in earlier posts, we are also launching a program called SODIS (solar water disinfection)at the school to purify water. Since we are waiting for the heavy rains to fill the tank, our focus right now is educating and training the teachers and some senior students on the life-saving process. We will launch the program school-wide in January when the students return from their break.
With the water tank and SODIS taken care of, our next big leap is to build a lab and facilitate the education of our Grade 12 students. As many of you know, we lack a Gr. 12 because we do not have a lab for science lessons and practicals. Without studying this, the students have no hope at passing the standardized exams at the end of Gr. 12 which they need to graduate. We are working on a proposal, putting the figures together and working out the logistics at the moment, but what remains is that we still need adequate funding in order to move forward with the plans! The total cost is likely to be in the neighbourhood of $15,000- $20,000 when you consider that we need the building, school supplies, electricity, furniture, books, and teachers!
I cannot stress enough how important it is to implement a Gr. 12 class at this school. Students in lower grades might become discouraged from studying hard if they think they won't be able to graduate at the end of all their hard work. Even though they deal with hunger, thirst, disease, homelessness, having no parents, and war trauma to name a few, this hurdle-- graduating from high school-- is one that we can actually change for the better. They truly have no hope without us, and I have 110% confidence that
we will make it happen! I am elated to hear that high schools, businesses and various groups in Canada are interested in helping Sud Academy become a destination school for Sudanese refugees... John Wise and Arthur Voden schools in St. Thomas have committed to helping their fellow students across the globe get a fair shot at life, just as they are lucky enough to have because they were born in a peaceful country like Canada. That students & kids are becoming more socially aware is inspiring to me- you get what you give, and I'm glad our Canadian students are seizing the opportunity to help others, and as such, themselves. Good work, St. Thomas!
Let's see what other sources of funding we can find for Sud and a lab... I welcome anyone to contact me (kelleejacobs@gmail.com) if you need any information about things related to Sud, Sudan, labs, education, fundraising, etc.... I look forward to working with all of you!
Stay tuned for photos and a story on my trek into Southern Sudan-- understanding where these students come from is a must for anyone interested in helping. The stories, situation and challenges in Sudan are both heartbreaking and inspiring. When I see need, I am immediately inspired to act. I hope you'll join me in this venture to make change, one community at a time.
Until then,
A giant Asante Sana!! (Swahili for thank you)
