http://www.flc-lynn.org/wunlang.html
I got an email from my friend Franco Majok the other day.
"I do not know if you hear about my project. When I came from south Sudan, I decided to raise money and build school in my village. The First Lutheran Church in Lynn is helping, but I do need help from you if you can specially when you go back to school."
The man in the plaid shirt is Franco. He came to the US from Southern Sudan in 1998; the picture was taken on a recent trip home. The kids surrounding him are the children of his village.
This is their school right now. Under a tree. With no school supplies or desks. School's closed during the rainy season, from May to October, because it's too wet. It's also closed during the dry season, December to May, because it's too hot out in the sun. So school can only go on from October to December. Yet, when school is in session, some kids walk two hours to get there.
What they need, Franco says, is a school building.
In the US news media, we hear about high-level peace agreement talks constantly, but rarely ever take the time to follow up on what happens there. Yet making the peace last is just as important, if not more important, than signing a document. Southern Sudan had a civil war for 20 years that it's only just beginning to recover from. Refugees are rushing to get back home, but when they arrive there are no long-term structures, like school systems, waiting for them. If southern Sudan was stable and had social structures that actually worked, it would not only keep the peace accords functioning, but might help stablize the surrounding region, including northern Uganda.
My mother's already looking into volunteering at the school once it's completed. We'll see what happens, but I might go too.
Franco's asking for donations of ten dollars. Please help.
http://www.flc-lynn.org/wunlang.html
"I do not know if you hear about my project. When I came from south Sudan, I decided to raise money and build school in my village. The First Lutheran Church in Lynn is helping, but I do need help from you if you can specially when you go back to school."
The man in the plaid shirt is Franco. He came to the US from Southern Sudan in 1998; the picture was taken on a recent trip home. The kids surrounding him are the children of his village.
This is their school right now. Under a tree. With no school supplies or desks. School's closed during the rainy season, from May to October, because it's too wet. It's also closed during the dry season, December to May, because it's too hot out in the sun. So school can only go on from October to December. Yet, when school is in session, some kids walk two hours to get there.
What they need, Franco says, is a school building.
In the US news media, we hear about high-level peace agreement talks constantly, but rarely ever take the time to follow up on what happens there. Yet making the peace last is just as important, if not more important, than signing a document. Southern Sudan had a civil war for 20 years that it's only just beginning to recover from. Refugees are rushing to get back home, but when they arrive there are no long-term structures, like school systems, waiting for them. If southern Sudan was stable and had social structures that actually worked, it would not only keep the peace accords functioning, but might help stablize the surrounding region, including northern Uganda.
My mother's already looking into volunteering at the school once it's completed. We'll see what happens, but I might go too.
Franco's asking for donations of ten dollars. Please help.
http://www.flc-lynn.org/wunlang.html