Me and the boys!
Today and tomorrow we are out and about getting geared up. We are almost at our (increased) goal! Good work folks... you are part of something special in a stranger's life.
Jan 31, 2009
Jan 23, 2009
The Form 4 Boys
Below please find the short profiles and individual pictures of the boys we have all be working to raise money for! So far we have raised over $2000 and I have paid their tuition fees for first term with the first money wire! They are looking forward to starting school next week but we require some more funds to pay for exams fees, holiday tuition and a few other school fees they tack on here in Kenya. It's looking good though! The boys thank all of you for the important opportunity you are so generously providing them...
Abraham Manyok
Abraham Manyok Thuch
Abraham is 25 years old and comes from the Upper Nile region of Sudan, in a village called Poktap. When he was about 12 years old, the rebel army began training him to be a soldier, and when he was old enough at 16, he was put into battle. He fought only once, and then decided to escape the army in 1999, crossed the river Nile into the Bahr-el-Gazal region of Southern Sudan, and eventually made it to (relative) safety in Uganda in 1999. Some workers of the UN sponsored World Food Program brought him to Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya in 2000, where he lived for 4 years. While he came to Nairobi in 2004, he didn’t enroll in Sud Academy until 2006 because he was very ill. His favourite subjects are history, government and religious studies. He is looking forward to attending school this year so that he can be properly equipped to move on to study politics or military science in university. He hopes to become a politician in Sudan so that he can defend the rights of his people. Manyok would like to say may God bless those who are kind enough to think of others in need, like him and his fellow classmates.
Abraham is 25 years old and comes from the Upper Nile region of Sudan, in a village called Poktap. When he was about 12 years old, the rebel army began training him to be a soldier, and when he was old enough at 16, he was put into battle. He fought only once, and then decided to escape the army in 1999, crossed the river Nile into the Bahr-el-Gazal region of Southern Sudan, and eventually made it to (relative) safety in Uganda in 1999. Some workers of the UN sponsored World Food Program brought him to Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya in 2000, where he lived for 4 years. While he came to Nairobi in 2004, he didn’t enroll in Sud Academy until 2006 because he was very ill. His favourite subjects are history, government and religious studies. He is looking forward to attending school this year so that he can be properly equipped to move on to study politics or military science in university. He hopes to become a politician in Sudan so that he can defend the rights of his people. Manyok would like to say may God bless those who are kind enough to think of others in need, like him and his fellow classmates.
Dennis Muyodi
Dennis Muyodi Otieno
Dennis is a 20 year old boy who attends Sud Academy, but is actually Kenyan by birth. He came to Nairobi to live with his cousin in 2006 after his parents passed away. Because Kenyan school fees are expensive, he decided to join Sud because the fees are manageable enough for his cousin to pay. He says without the presence of Sud Academy, he would not have been able to continue studying without the support of guardians or sponsors. He loves chemistry in school, but also is interested in history and Kiswahili, Kenya’s official language. After graduating Form 4, he hopes to become a doctor so he can help those in need. He encourages his supporters to continue in their spirit of helping, and wishes them the best as a thank you!
Dennis is a 20 year old boy who attends Sud Academy, but is actually Kenyan by birth. He came to Nairobi to live with his cousin in 2006 after his parents passed away. Because Kenyan school fees are expensive, he decided to join Sud because the fees are manageable enough for his cousin to pay. He says without the presence of Sud Academy, he would not have been able to continue studying without the support of guardians or sponsors. He loves chemistry in school, but also is interested in history and Kiswahili, Kenya’s official language. After graduating Form 4, he hopes to become a doctor so he can help those in need. He encourages his supporters to continue in their spirit of helping, and wishes them the best as a thank you!
Francis Bangoang
Francis Bangoang Riek
Francis was born in the region of Benitu in Southern Sudan, and while he is unsure of his birth date, he estimates that he is about 29 years old. He last saw his mom and dad in 1989, when there were clashes in his village between Southern rebel forces and the northern Arab militia. He is unsure if his parents were killed or if they managed to escape the attack, but he was captured by the rebel force and taken to Ethiopia where he lived for 2 years training as a soldier. In 1992, he was shot while traveling by UN escort and remained in Kenya to receive treatment to his wound. He lived in northern Kenya for 14 years in Kakuma refugee camp, until 2006, when he travelled to Nairobi for safety. He entered Form 2 (gr.10) in 2007 at Sud Academy. He says he loves all subjects, but especially sciences, history and government, and religion. He hopes to be a doctor one day, and wants to thank the donors for sponsoring the completion of his high school diploma. He says these people have helped him go from having nothing, to having the chance of becoming something.
Francis was born in the region of Benitu in Southern Sudan, and while he is unsure of his birth date, he estimates that he is about 29 years old. He last saw his mom and dad in 1989, when there were clashes in his village between Southern rebel forces and the northern Arab militia. He is unsure if his parents were killed or if they managed to escape the attack, but he was captured by the rebel force and taken to Ethiopia where he lived for 2 years training as a soldier. In 1992, he was shot while traveling by UN escort and remained in Kenya to receive treatment to his wound. He lived in northern Kenya for 14 years in Kakuma refugee camp, until 2006, when he travelled to Nairobi for safety. He entered Form 2 (gr.10) in 2007 at Sud Academy. He says he loves all subjects, but especially sciences, history and government, and religion. He hopes to be a doctor one day, and wants to thank the donors for sponsoring the completion of his high school diploma. He says these people have helped him go from having nothing, to having the chance of becoming something.
Kuot Maduot
Kuot Maduot Kuot
Kuot is 26 years old and comes from Tonj county and a village called Rualbet. When Kuot was 1 year old, his parents passed away and villagers took on the task of raising him until 1999. The UNHCR rescued him from his village and took him by bus to Kakuma refugee camp, where he lived until 2007. In 2008, repatriation of Sudanese refugees was taking place as peach had finally come to Souther Sudan. Even though he was welcome to go home, he had no parents, no relatives, no home and no school. Hearing of Sud Academy, he travelled to Nairobi in 2008 to enroll in Form 3 (gr.11). He says his favourite subjects are the sciences and if he has a chance to go to university, he would love to become a doctor. He says may God bless those who are offering him and his classmates the opportunity of learning, and thank you for helping those Sudanese who have been suffering for too long.
Kuot is 26 years old and comes from Tonj county and a village called Rualbet. When Kuot was 1 year old, his parents passed away and villagers took on the task of raising him until 1999. The UNHCR rescued him from his village and took him by bus to Kakuma refugee camp, where he lived until 2007. In 2008, repatriation of Sudanese refugees was taking place as peach had finally come to Souther Sudan. Even though he was welcome to go home, he had no parents, no relatives, no home and no school. Hearing of Sud Academy, he travelled to Nairobi in 2008 to enroll in Form 3 (gr.11). He says his favourite subjects are the sciences and if he has a chance to go to university, he would love to become a doctor. He says may God bless those who are offering him and his classmates the opportunity of learning, and thank you for helping those Sudanese who have been suffering for too long.
Lino Madut
Lino Madut Angok
Lino is 25 years old and comes from Twic county, and a village called Mading. His journey to Sud Academy is a long and treacherous one that started in 1994 when he was captured by the Arab militia in his village and sold as a slave to an elderly woman in northern Sudan. His life as a slave for 4 years included regular beatings in the morning, and frequent starvation to force him to do work. When there was food, it was often mixed with dirt and stones. His duty was to look after cattle and goats, and he often went into the bush by himself with the animals. Here, he met some Nubian Sudanese (black northerners) boys and they inquired about his life as a slave. They told him of an church based organization called Redemption that could help him escape. Fearing for his life if he was caught escaping, he stalled for a couple weeks until finally letting them approach his owner. She threatened to kill them all if he left, but a couple days later while in the bush, he met with the Nubian boys and ran away in 1998. He eventually made it to Kakuma refugee camp in 1999, and lived there until 2006. When repatriation was occurring after the peace agreement in Sudan, Lino said he was too afraid to return to a country where he has no home, no parents, and the possibility of being captured and tortured again. He enrolled at Sud Academy in 2006, where he hopes to become a teacher one day. He loves politics and computers, and wishes to remain in Kenya for the long term. He is very appreciative of attending Sud the past couple years, and promises to pass with good grades at his new school thanks to his donors! God will bless their kindness.
Lino is 25 years old and comes from Twic county, and a village called Mading. His journey to Sud Academy is a long and treacherous one that started in 1994 when he was captured by the Arab militia in his village and sold as a slave to an elderly woman in northern Sudan. His life as a slave for 4 years included regular beatings in the morning, and frequent starvation to force him to do work. When there was food, it was often mixed with dirt and stones. His duty was to look after cattle and goats, and he often went into the bush by himself with the animals. Here, he met some Nubian Sudanese (black northerners) boys and they inquired about his life as a slave. They told him of an church based organization called Redemption that could help him escape. Fearing for his life if he was caught escaping, he stalled for a couple weeks until finally letting them approach his owner. She threatened to kill them all if he left, but a couple days later while in the bush, he met with the Nubian boys and ran away in 1998. He eventually made it to Kakuma refugee camp in 1999, and lived there until 2006. When repatriation was occurring after the peace agreement in Sudan, Lino said he was too afraid to return to a country where he has no home, no parents, and the possibility of being captured and tortured again. He enrolled at Sud Academy in 2006, where he hopes to become a teacher one day. He loves politics and computers, and wishes to remain in Kenya for the long term. He is very appreciative of attending Sud the past couple years, and promises to pass with good grades at his new school thanks to his donors! God will bless their kindness.
Jan 16, 2009
Jan 12, 2009
The Right to an Education
There is in existence a universal document that symbolizes the basic assumptions of what it means to be a human on this planet, interacting with those around us, and functioning as an individual imbedded in small collections of other free-willed individuals. From a Hobbesian perspective, the world’s citizens have an intrinsic dog-eat-dog instinct, and as such, it is necessary to have bodies that design and enforce laws, guidelines and limitations on power in order to protect those of us who are unlucky enough to be born without an upper hand. This system of guidelines, and indeed laws, is called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was enacted in 1948. For more than six decades these laws have existed, and for six decades, every country in the world has been complicit in violating, to varying degrees, their basic tenets. One among these is the right to education. Here is what the Charter says about it:
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 
Please click on map to see full view.
Even a brief glance at the literacy rates map provided by the UN indicates an extreme inequity in the fulfillment of these laws. Education today is being treated as a privilege rather than a right. It’s a shameful hindrance to the advancement of our modern civilization and there is nowhere in the world where this is more evident than on the continent of Africa.
Plagued by famine, corruption, droughts, civil wars, disease, poverty and genocide, this continent has found it next to impossible to educate its population. I believe that, at least to a substantial extent, this is the reason Africa has failed to leave tragedy in the past and catch up to the rest of the world. Knowledge truly is power, and it is something that is severely lacking in this corner of the world.
My experience here in Nairobi with the refugee students at Sud Academy has been an enlightening one. I have seen a thirst for education that is unprecedented anywhere else I have been. From what I can tell, education and knowledge are the most important tools the students wish to possess- this is their ticket out of war and disease, of hunger and idleness. They ask me to come early to teach them, and stay after dark so they can gain access to what little knowledge of the way things work that I have. They request I bring them my books from home, whatever the subject, or that I go buy them textbooks to learn about literature, history and religion to name a few. They demand I find them sponsors from the people at home so that they may continue learning until they become independent of hand outs. They say they must become doctors, lawyers, politicians and priests so that they can lead the way in a New Sudan, so they can guide their brothers and sisters, they say, into a freer world that focuses on the future rather than survival.
So you must imagine what it is like for me when I have to tell them I do not have access to thousands of dollars to help them all. As a self-proclaimed academic (I really like to think so, but it’s a wobbly true identity at best), it frustrates me to tell them I do not have the means to help. It angers me that they even have to ask, in a world where it is actually law for citizens to receive an education. And free at that.
Sud Academy’s funding for this year is less than it was in 2008. It’s no surprise, given the state of international financial markets, and the looming debt and bailouts that governments across the globe now face. Bank accounts shrinking, rising unemployment rates, less credit and more financial insecurity are all very real threats to economic stability, let alone growth. Explaining this complex web of how an interdependent world works falls on deaf ears here. “Do you still have a car? Do you still have a house? Are you able to buy rice? Do you have a toilet? Are you free from disease?” If the answers are yes, even to only some of these questions, most students at Sud Academy cannot possibly imagine being so lucky. Anyone who answers yes to all these questions is wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
The point of my post, and the inspiration behind it, is this: there are five students at Sud who were supposed to have started their last year of high school on January 5, 2009. Without the funds to send them to another school, and without the facilities to educate them sufficiently at the modest (to be polite) school that is Sud, we have had to tell them “Sorry, you can’t continue and complete your high school education unless you find the funding yourself”. Confusion, disappointment and eventually persistent reapplications for sympathy and funding have been the result. I personally do not have the money to send them. I have promised them I would try to find other sources, and so here is my plea. It costs between $300 and $500 to send one student to a boarding school for an entire year. There are 5 Senior students that are eligible to continue this year. That is between $1,500 and $2,500. Providing food, shelter and education to 5 bright and promising students, this figure doesn’t seem impossible. I can attest to the dedication and interest, and also the desperation of these 5 students. Even though they have no textbooks, no teachers and even no classroom at Sud, they have shown up every day at school since January 5, hoping that I will bring good news with me each morning. When I tell them, “No, sorry- still nothing” they nod and smile politely and ask me to please try again.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a student, or part of a student’s education at a respectable boarding school in Kenya, please contact me. It is not in my nature to ask people for money- I generally think it’s tacky and lewd. But inquiring minds in Africa deserve the same chance that Canadians receive, and I don’t think that because of the region of birth, the unfortunate result of poor governance or the cruel realities of war, a student should be denied access to the power of learning. For that reason, I hope we can manage to scrounge together and send these boys to school. It’s truly our responsibility as citizens of the world.
Thanks for taking the time to read- I hope I haven’t sounded like I’m begging! How distasteful that would be... ;)
Jan 11, 2009
Brief Announcement
Hello you. I am sick FYI. Could be the tap water, or the shady restaurants I ate at last week in the slums, or the yummy Indian food I ate last night. Or maybe it's my emotional stress realizing itself physically. Not sure, but alas, I am sick! I was planning on posting a message on Friday about the crazy and busy week that the first week of school turned out to be. There were many meetings, some productive, some heated, and some outside school that were very interesting. Also there are some school issues and funding problems I'd like to share. All in due time- when my sweats and nausea stop, I'll write the post. Please check back in a few days...
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