Africa-Press – South-Sudan. I am overjoyed to be able to continue my higher education,” said 17-year-old Hediya Wilfred Surur. “I need to support my aging parents, and further education will definitely help me get a good job,” she added.
Hediya was speaking this week at the handover of a newly built secondary school in the Kediba area of Mundri County, funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Students in Kediba no longer need to travel long distances to the nearest public school or relocate to the capital Juba for quality education.
“As mothers, we were worried about our children’s future,” revealed Zenobia Emmanuel, a parent. “We had to send them away from home to nearby counties such as Mundri or Maridi, or even as far off as Juba for quality education. It meant that we were constantly anxious about them. But now, with this school, we have the opportunity to educate our children without robbing them of a stable parental presence at home,” she added.
Thomas Bazawi, a programme assistant with the UNMISS Protection, Transition and Reintegration Section, said: “Our aim, through the QIPs programme, is to address urgent public needs through small-scale infrastructural interventions that have a massive impact on improving the lives of community members. The construction of this school is a key example. We hope that Kediba residents will manage the school well; UNMISS is always here to provide them with additional support, should they need it.”
Mr. Bazawi thanked county authorities for supporting the project, which was implemented by local partner Community Organization for Peer Education (COPE).
“As community members, it’s our duty to make the most use of this conducive learning facility and increase enrollment of girls to counter harmful traditional practices such as early or forced marriages,” said Fozia Margaret, County Commissioner, Mundri East.
“I advise parents to think of education as power because when girls and boys are equally educated, they have the power to build a stable and secure South Sudan,” she added.
The newly built Kediba secondary school consists of one block of four classrooms designed to accommodate some 200 students.
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