Fourteen years after gaining independence, a community-driven initiative is igniting hope for a better future through education in South Sudan.
In Mundri County, a region grappling with severe humanitarian challenges, local residents led by church and community leaders have launched a grassroots school project aimed at empowering the next generation.
The effort emerged after locals took part in Transforming Communities, a training programme by the Christian charity Tearfund.
Participants, inspired to take ownership of their community's development, decided to build a school from scratch to tackle the educational barriers faced by children in the area.
Emmanuel George Ali, 42, a local leader who completed the Tearfund training, commented: “The training was like an awakening for what we can potentially do. We realised that instead of waiting for donors to come and solve our problems here, the solution to our problems lies within us. It was time to stand up and do something.
“Children faced significant challenges accessing education due to the lack of nearby schools and infrastructure. Many children were walking several kilometres through difficult and dangerous terrain to reach the nearest school. This was the reason that most of our children had no basic literacy and numeracy skills.
“We decided to establish a nursery and primary school in Mundri. Among us, some were trained teachers, so we pooled resources - both human and financial - and sought support from the local church, parents and other community members.”
With support from local churches and families, residents pooled their skills and limited resources to construct the Teacher’s Union Nursery and Primary School, using mud bricks, bamboo, and thatch.
Despite modest beginnings, the school now serves nearly 600 students and employs 17 teachers, all backed by the community.
According to Erickson Bisetsa, Tearfund’s South Sudan Country Director, the school stands as “a spring of hope” not only for children but also for adults.
In addition to formal education, the school offers literacy classes for adults and has inspired unity among diverse community members.
“This school is a lifetime investment and forever the children of this community will always have a learning space,” said 71-year-old Pastor Charles Ruben of the Sudan Pentecostal Church in Mundri.
As the world’s youngest country, more than 7 million people face food insecurity in South Sudan, while floods, conflict, poverty and disease outbreaks - including a recent cholera surge - compound the challenges.
Despite this, experts point to South Sudan’s youth population - over 8.5 million - as a potential to drive lasting peace and shared prosperity if given the right support.
To sustain the initiative, local teachers have launched small farming ventures and savings and loans groups such as Village Savings and Loan Association.
They have also collaborated with local groups to provide teacher training, aiming to enhance the quality of education.
In response to growing needs, Tearfund has issued an urgent appeal to assist its church partners across South Sudan and other crisis-hit regions.
