Education Is Big Deal!

Learning in South Sudan was a big deal. In order to survive, I had to learn how to live off of the land. Families (grandparents, parents, children, sisters, brothers) live together and work together in the jungle. South Sudanese girls grow-up learning by helping their mothers and the boys learn from their fathers. Due to severe poverty, war and lack of education, villages have no power, no roads, no running water, no stores, etc. This requires the men and boys to sit around a fire at night and tell stories to learn from one another. Everybody in the family, no matter what age, has a role to play in living in the jungle. The littlest might sweep the dirt around your tukul, watch over the goat or feed the chicken, that is, if you have one. As I got older, my tasks and duties would increase with my skill levels. I learned at a very young age from my grandfather teach me how to dig a garden and how to fetch water from the nearest creek. Education has always been a priority in my life and my grandfather constantly encouraged me to learn. A school was set up in the place where the church would meet on Sunday. I would watch the older children leave for school and I could not wait until it was my turn to go. This story to be continued.....