By Daniel Athior’o Atem, Juba, South Sudan
Monday, May 25, 2020 (PW) — Following decades of war that ravaged South Sudan, all systems were completely broken. This war led the country to achieved it independence on 9th July 2011, however celebrations were short lived when country get married to conflict in December 2013 between Riek Machar and President Kiir’s loyalists. The post-independence conflict dealt a major blow to development efforts and only worsened the humanitarian situation. Millions of children and youth have been denied the right to education because they are displaced, parents have been killed and they languish in poverty.
Education is very critical to fuel post conflict development. Reviving the sector requires collaborative efforts from the government, international communities and the private sectors. Transparency and exemplary leadership are important to lead the country in the path of development. The many years of conflict saw millions of South Sudan nationals flee the country as refugees or asylum seekers to nearby East African countries and some overseas. Many have since graduated and feel the urge to return home to take part in the country’s development efforts.
Rev. John Chol Daau is among the people who are commonly referred to as the “Lost Boys from Sudan” who flees off their ancestors’ home for Ethiopia bare feet as child Soldiers (Red army) then to Kakuma’s refugee camp which’s located in North-west Kenya and later to USA and other part of the world. Many of them went on to earn college degrees and attain U.S. citizenship. Rev. John like a few others kept hoping that he will one day return home to use his education to contribute to the building his war-torn country. He was convinced that only education, mentorship and peace are important pillars in nation building.
Because of his love for his country (South Sudan) he came back and built school named as Good Shepherd Academy located in Sherikat, Juba area as a way of giving back to the society after realized that most of the country problems can be alleviated through education by educating the leaders (Young generation). The academy has enrolled above 400 pupils, with 165 pupils under school scholarship. The school has about 27 staffs (teaching and Non-teachings). From zero resources, the school started with simple temporary structures however overtime facilities have been upgraded.
The fact that close to half of Good Shepherd Academy students are on scholarship is enough testimony of Rev. John’s spirit of nationalism and volunteerism. With almost everything lost, many of our brothers and sisters lack the financial ability to access quality education. The spirit of volunteerism is therefore important to uplift a war-torn country to better. Rev. John’s initiative sends a very positive message to all the South Sudanese in the diaspora and those who could within. He gave up a comfortable, secure life in the U.S to return home and add a brick to the post conflict development. This spirit if emulated, development in South Sudan will be steadfast. It is however important to have good leadership that instills a sense of confidence in the returnees. Leaders should all be focused and united towards achieving the country’s vision.
Education is the key
Sustainable peace and development cannot be achieved without education. Educating our children and especially the girl child guarantees a future of self-sustaining, productive individuals. Right now, the country suffers foreign exchange deficit simply because we almost entirely depend on imports. Education can unlock the innovation potential of our people to initiate new investment grounds. Investing in quality education solves many challenges including unemployment, inflation, crime, insurgency, child marriages, hunger, domestic violence, and poverty where South Sudan is now trapped. It is therefore important to step up investment and capacity in education if the country is to achieve the Sustainable development goals by 2030.
Challenges
Political uncertainty remains one of the biggest challenges in South Sudan. This what scared any developer that the country may slip back into the pre-independence times given the recent political tensions between SPLM-IO and SPLM-IG. However, Rev John Chol is optimistic that things may get better after signing of the recent peace deal.
Also, its notes that government has not shown the goodwill to returnees and nationals who are putting up projects to aid in the country’s development. Some struggle to get land and related resources to set off their projects. Bureaucratic tendencies in government agencies also frustrate individual efforts to aid in the development process.
Way Forward
Government should put up a conducive environment where returnees feel comfortable to contribute to the development of the country. This requires leaders to push for peace and development. Transparency is also critical in all government dealings. Corruption has frustrated several projects.
Rev. John is just one of the thousands of ‘The Lost Boys of Sudan’ who has decided to return home and contribute to national development. More ‘Lost Boys’ should emulate his gesture and come home. They can contribute in many ways to the building of this beautiful country.
The Ministry of Education should support projects like the one of Rev. John Chol through providing educational materials, girls materials and grants. Starting up education institutions is resource constraining project whose return on investment is not even short-term and yet educating the nation’s children benefits everyone.
The author, Daniel Athior’o Atem, is the 2019 World Bank Blog4Dev Winner for South Sudan, a Member of the Youth Transforming Africa and a Mandela Scholar. He can be reached via his email: atemathior@gmail.com