We are happy to announce the near completion of three bathrooms and a septic tank. Schools in South Sudan have not resumed due to Covid-19. We took the time to build a septic tank and three separate bathrooms – one for our ‘strong’ girls, another for boys, and another for staff members). All bathrooms are strong and big enough to accommodate our ever-growing school population. All three units are almost complete.

Training and Results: We reached out to the community in the six villages of Ariang through door-to-door training, printed T-shirts, horn-speaker broadcasting, and held one radio show where we discussed COVID-19 preventative measures and social & health risks associated with the virus. Our training targeted key areas that included open-air markets where people gather in large numbers and river crossing points where we trained the community on how to properly use canoes to reduce the threat of contracting the virus. We set up handwashing stations in each of these locations and supplied them with sufficient handwashing detergents.

Community Leadership: Many community members had identified long-distance traders and motorbike operators as potential agents that would introduce the virus to Ariang. For these groups, our team emphasized that they strictly observe social-distancing rules and be extra cautious while carrying out their nation-building activities. We also distributed 600 facemasks to these groups. The 600 facemasks are part of thousands of more facemasks that we are making in partnership with other two organizations.

Learning Points: This project was an exciting one. We tested our team’s collaboration, teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills. Every morning, Our team would meet to discuss the successes and shortfalls of the previous day and come up with creative solutions to address the shortfalls. We involved our SEP scholars so that they could learn planning and management skills while they also practiced goal-setting and effective plan execution strategies. Our leadership team on the ground (Paulino nad Manut) did a great job of reaching out to the county government, local ministry of health, and key village icons for support and advice. All these contributed to the success of the project.