By Ray Stranske | Board Chair
Students are oh so happy to back in the classroom! That’s certainly true here in the US. Think of students in Bor, South Sudan who have no internet, computers, or TVs and very few phones. The isolation has been intense and was magnified by the presence of intense flooding in Bor for a large portion of 2020.
But now… students are back. Schools opened to all grades in May for the new 2021 school year. PESS was able to welcome 80 high school aged girls into the program, more than the 55 who started out last year, because of a special grant received from a Denver Rotary Club. Most students have either lost parents in the civil war or they have unemployed parents due to a devastated economy.
After selecting the 80 students for the school year, Executive Director Daniel Gai gathered them for an orientation session in a classroom at Bor College High, one of the eleven schools where PESS supports students. Daniel was accompanied by Abuk and Akur, the two program assistants who themselves are graduates of the program from a few years back. Then students were divided into 8 Girl Groups of approximately 10 students each. Over a period of 8 days the Girl Groups gathered at the PESS office to choose group leaders, choose a group name, and then to have group discussion around topics provided by PESS staff. Then each student writes an essay, based on thoughts from their group discussion. Lunch and tea are provided for these monthly occasions which last about 5 hours for each group.
The Girl Groups provide camaraderie, a place to develop and practice leadership skills, and a place to turn discussion of current events into written essays that the girls can critique for each other. Girls are also given personal supplies, including soap and sanitary supplies to take home, as most families in the program are extremely poor and do not have funds for these supplies. Receiving the personal supplies allows the girls to continue to stay in school, since monthly periods often are the cause of girls missing school and sometimes dropping out.
So, school is back, in person, and the girls are oh so happy.
Thank you--all of you--who contribute to help make this happen!
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