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Passing on the Role of Executive Director

Greeting Friends of HOPE for Ariang, I send my heartfelt greetings from South Sudan!
At Ariang Primary School, students are finishing their school year and continue to take their studies seriously by having good attendance and promising exam results. In May 2017, the school marked its sixth year of learning in the building which you, our supporters, funded and the Ariang community built.

South Sudan, in its early infancy stage as a democratic nation, is still very fragile as it fluctuates between periods of peace and war. Her citizens continuously suffer when development and progress are hindered as a result.

And yet, there is this little school in a remote rural village that carries on in the midst of uncertainty and provides a glimpse of South Sudan’s brighter future.

We continue to invest in the future of South Sudanese youth because education is the only way to develop and change a country. I am encouraged when I meet Ariang Primary School alumni who are attending secondary school or even some who are beginning their higher education at various universities throughout South Sudan! Each and every student that leaves Ariang School Primary with knowledge and other life skills to carry them forward makes our efforts worth it!

Over the past year, I have recognized the need for help in continuing HOPE for Ariang’s work in South Sudan.

I couldn’t be more proud to pass on the role of Executive Director, to a former board member and my wife, Elizabeth Deng.

She brings passion, commitment, and leadership to the organization. As an experienced teacher, she is dedicated to helping Ariang School grow and thrive. With our family now based in East Africa, she is able to provide even more hands-on support to the school and oversight on future programs. Below, you can read about two new initiatives she is currently working on in collaboration with our Ariang School staff: Shoes and Teacher Training.

Please join me in enthusiastically welcoming Elizabeth as our new Executive Director! I am confident she will help further HOPE for Ariang’s mission in South Sudan of providing educational opportunities for all. As I step away from the daily operations, I will still play an advisory role to Elizabeth to allow for a smooth transition as well as be a guest speaker at requesting schools and venues.

Serving as Founding Executive Director will always be my most rewarding and proudest work. It has been humbling to see what can be achieved when a community, spread across the globe, comes together to support my dream of providing education to boys and girls in Ariang. Thank you for being part of the journey!

With Deep Gratitude, Gabriel Bol Deng

Report from Ariang School

 

Dear Family and Friends,

At the beginning of December, I had the privilege of traveling to Ariang village to visit the school and meet with the community. It had been six years since I last visited and I was eager to reconnect with teachers, students, and community members as I begin my new role as Executive Director.  I went with a very simple purpose: to listen. I wanted to hear from as many teachers, students, and their parents and understand the successes, challenges, and dreams for Ariang Primary School.

During my last visit in 2011, South Sudan was a newly independent country. Optimism and hope were evident in the community and throughout the new Republic.  Since 2011, South Sudan has been devastated by its own civil war that has had a significant impact on the country’s security and development.  While Ariang School is located in a region of the country that is removed from the frequent violence, they still feel the economic impact resulting from the war.

Throughout my conversations there were two overarching themes that appeared:

  • Ariang community as a whole, which includes teachers, students, and parents, has a deep understanding that education has the transformative power to change the course of an individual, family and community.

 

Students wake up before dawn to get ready and walk two hours to school, because they know that an education will provide a better future for them.

Teachers continue to teach while earning a meager salary because they believe that education is the key to lift up their community. Even with limited teaching tools, they desire to guide young boys and girls in their learning so that they can be the future change in Ariang.

Families are recognizing the importance of school and more are sending their young girls to Ariang School. When the school began, less than 25% were girls. This year, there were almost even number of boys and girls.

  • Ariang community faces numerous daily struggles of survival that extends to Ariang Primary School. Teachers, students, and community members are crying for more support and help to build up their school and community.

Students are in need of new uniforms, shoes, and basic school supplies; items that are difficult for most families to buy.

Teachers come with varied levels of education and training. They are desperate for more training to improve their teaching practices.

Teachers also come long distances to school, making it difficult for them to arrive early or on-time for lessons.

The school is showing signs of deterioration due to the lack of a schoolyard fence to secure the building and students. In addition, the chalkboards are in need of repair.

I left Ariang with an overwhelming awareness that there is a lot of work ahead, to achieve our mission of providing educational opportunities to all South Sudanese—One village at a time.

This trip will help guide HOPE for Ariang Foundation’s work in 2018. We are working on a few short-term immediate projects as well as long-term investment projects. Three specific projects that I am most excited for are:

  • New Uniforms and Shoes for our students

A uniform is a powerful tool for establishing a sense of community and belonging. When a student has a uniform, he or she walks to school with pride and dignity, showing others in the community that they are part of Ariang Primary School. It creates equality among students. Students feel more equipped and ready to learn each day. Currently, most students at Ariang School do not have uniforms or proper shoes to wear.  Students, teachers, and the community asked over and over for more uniforms for students.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 to be able to give out 700 uniforms and shoes in 2018.

  • Bikes for Teachers

Teachers face similar challenges to students and have to walk long distances to the school. With added family responsibilities, it becomes even more challenging for them to arrive at school early or on time for lessons. With a bicycle, they will be able to arrive at school early enough prepare their lessons for the day.

Our goal is to raise $5,400 for 18 bicycles.

  • Teacher Training

The long-term investment in Ariang School is in equipping our teachers with the best teaching tools possible. There isn’t a quick fix for teacher training. It will take time, resources, and consistent follow-up to help develop our teachers. However, the impact of it is significant. When the quality of teaching improves at the school, it impacts student learning and performance.

We are partnering with Dignitas, a Kenya based organization that has been doing teacher training in community schools throughout Nairobi’s informal settlements (slums) for the past seven years. They have refined their program to successfully transform schools through investment in teachers. We are excited for the ways that they will help develop and grow our Ariang Primary School teachers in 2018.

Our goal is to raise $30,000 for teacher training.

I invite you to be part of these three exciting programs and others in 2018. You can donate online or mail a donation here. Your support allows us to keep doing this important work of transforming a community through one little school. Thank you for enabling us to do so!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Deng