South Sudan: promoting empowerment through education

Maureen Ogutu, LWF Education Coordinator in Maban, South Sudan, shares challenges and hopes for children in the war-torn region

(LWI) - Pray for peace, for honest government leaders and for empowerment through education. That is the appeal from Maureen Ogutu, Education Coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Maban, in the Upper Nile State of South Sudan. Originally from Kenya and a teacher by training, she has spent over 25 years working to provide quality education and opportunities for people living in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

South Sudan became the world’s newest nation when it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but the country has continued to be plagued by conflict and corruption. A five-year civil war officially ended with a power sharing agreement between warring factions in 2018, yet violence and food insecurity remain widespread, while flooding and a recent influx of returnees and refugees from Sudan have left nearly three quarters of the population dependent on humanitarian aid.

“There is a lot of conflict in most parts of the country,” Ogutu said, as she talked about the LWF’s work in supporting both refugees and host communities in Maban. In its new strategy, the LWF’s humanitarian arm World Service highlights “the right to education through the direct provision of inclusive basic education services where people are displaced, and governments are unable to meet this need.”

Early marriages and child soldiers

Ogutu spoke about the many challenges, including a lack of infrastructure, roads that are unusable during the rainy season, and the government’s failure to pay civil servant salaries for most of the past year. “In the public sector, teachers are not paid and are not motivated to work, so many children are not going to school,” leading to “lots of early marriages and child soldiers,” she explained.

“The number of girls who finish school is very low because of early marriage, some as young as 12 years old,” she continued. “The only thing that small boys know about is guns so what future will they have if this is their only reality?” she asked. LWF works with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to recruit qualified teachers, pay incentives, provide materials and in Maban, Ogutu noted, “the results are now good. We have 24 primary schools and 40 Early Childhood Development centers for refugees and host communities in the four camps” located in the Greater Maban region.

“I am passionate about education and what gives me joy is the realization of making a better tomorrow for someone,” Ogutu said. During her years of experience with LWF, as well as with the UN and other non-governmental organizations, she has focused on providing educational services for those living with disabilities, “working to make people see that those with special needs are not a curse but just people like you and me,” she added.”

Ogutu said that prayer is an important part of her work, “calling for God’s guidance in everything that we do. We have Muslims and Christians working with us, so we pray for the Spirit of God to lead us.” She asked for others to pray for the work in South Sudan as well: “Pray for peace leading to stability, so that children can go to school again. Pray for leaders who are not self-serving and corrupt, taking all the resources for themselves. Pray for people to be empowered through education, like those I have on my staff who were living in camps but have now come home and are helping to move the country forward.”