The Blessing of an Education

The literacy rate in South Sudan is about 27%. Most people in the area I am serving depend upon the land. They grow sorghum and keep a few animals, cows, goats and sheep.  They live with their families and sometimes extended family in a cluster of huts with very few belongings.

The school was started 11 years ago to support the church. Those who came here to train pastors and plant churches  saw a need to raise up young people to love the Lord, who can read the scriptures, understand the word and eventually become leaders in the church.

It is a blessing to be a part of that vision and to see it begin to bear fruit.

This "bell" is the school's communication system (Video). It is sounded to mark the beginning of the day, as well as other breaks in the day.

I am not sure what it is made of but it works well. The people here are very resourceful.

 The students line up by class each morning for assembly. They sing several  Christian songs in Dinka.

The songs are typically  lead by 4 of the students in a "Call and Response" style. After announcements and prayer the student follow their teacher to the classroom.

Students in 1st - 3rd grade come in the morning from 8am - 11:30. Students in grades 4-6 go to school in the afternoon but many of these students are employed as junior teachers, teaching the younger students in the morning. All the schools in South Sudan only meet in the morning. The government schools struggle to pay the teachers for even half a day.


One of my responsibilities while I am here is to mentor 3 of the junior teachers teaching 1B. Class 1B students are learning to speak English.

Junior Teacher Awan

Awan (left), Achol and Akuem (below) are all about 14 years old. They have been students at the school for several years and speak English very well.  But, they are teenagers....

Please pray for them and my ability to mentor them well while I am here.

The Dinka appear not to have words in their language for 'please' and 'thank you' and they rarely ask questions of one another. The style of communication is very direct and authoritative.

I am both enjoying and frustrated by the experience, yet  trying to see improvement in some small  area everyday.

Junior Teacher Akuem

 Although students speak Dinka to one another, we are making good progress in English and I can communicate with them with the help of the junior teachers.


The students have learned over 50 words and phrases in two weeks.

 I enjoy thinking up games and props to teach the words.

I made this replica of the school to teach the words boys, girls, floor, ceiling, table, bench, chair and walls.

The front has a door and windows to teach open and close.

They are eager to learn and fascinated by everything.

Shown here is a matching game made from cardboard. It is about the only resource that I have, but a good one.


I miss having Erik Johnson to help me do illustrations.

The students love to color. They would do it for hours. They only have a few crayons and they are just stubs, yet they color every detail, holding the paper on their laps completely consumed without saying a word to one another while working.

This page is illustrating the words we learned in lesson number one - boy, girl, boys, girls, teacher, sit down, stand up, jump, draw a line, number 1.

The students hear the words for five days before they are asked to speak the words. They point and respond yes and no, so you know that they understand the word before expecting them to process it verbally. Some of them started to say the words before the five days are up.