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After 22 years of civil war, which threw the country into deep poverty, the people of South Sudan have very few employable skills. Most skilled labor must come from neighboring countries. To counteract this, we operate the Jonglei Christian Vocational Boarding School (JCVBS) with a capacity of 64 adult students. These students are taught tailoring, IT (computers), and electrical skills which they can then use in their everyday life.
JCVBS was formed as the result of a request from the governor of Jonglei state. This request made six acres of land available for a campus in the state capital. Teachers came from Kenya and Uganda, and Jacob Agany, a South Sudanese, took on the role of school Principal — a role in which he has excelled.
This school is so popular in the country that the governor, mayor, and other government officials attended the June 2019 graduation and 132 applicants applied for the 64 openings for the term that starts in July 2019.
Although the school is highly subsidized, students are still required to pay tuition. Each term at JCVBS lasts for five months, and students are taught a variety of subjects. JCVBS is not a Bible School; however, the Bible is an important subject in the classroom. Many of South Sudan's strongest Christians were first reached by the Lord while students at JCVBS.
New Sudan Primary School
New Sudan Primary School (NSPS) is a school for children from preschool age through 8th grade. The buildings have mud walls, sheet iron roofs, dirt floors, no electricity, and not enough desks for the number of students. Some sit on the dirt floor or bring buckets or cans from home to sit on. NSPS enrolls over 740 students — far beyond our capacity. There are two options: we must either build more facilities or tell many students that they cannot attend next year. This is a tough decision.
Like JCVBS, this school is highly subsidized, but students pay tuition and buy their own uniforms. Parents and guardians (since some are orphans after the war) appreciate the school and the opportunities it brings to their children and the community. NSPS even has a borehole (a water well with a hand pump) which is available to the community before and after school hours. NGOs provide food supplies, and we hire the cooks. Our students eat one meal a day there, and, in many instances, this is the only meal they will eat that day. Additionally, the school only has a six-hole outhouse — for more than 740 students and teachers.
We need your help to improve our facilities so that we can continue to offer these amazing people the opportunities they deserve.
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