Supporting Nuba Students and Paying it Forward

support nuba studentsIt’s been a busy time here at Nuba Water Project! Not only are we getting ready for our 11th Annual Walk for Sudan on October 15th, we are continuing our ongoing support of the people of the Nuba Mountain region.

Supporting Nuba Students

As our support for this area grows, we are honored to be of service to new needs and organizations who have heard about our dedication. Nuba Water Project was recently contacted by Sr Cathy who is working to help with the education and pastoral needs in the Nuba as well as in South Sudan.

Here is what she had to say

 

We have 62 form 4 students (16 females and 46 males) in our secondary school in the Nuba who have to be taken to Kenya to sit for their KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) exams because the exams cannot come to them.

The 11 exams take about a month to do as they also involve practical exams 

for Chemistry, Biology, and Physics and there are huge costs involved. We have to:

 

  1. Transport them by plane from the Yida refugee camp through Juba to north Kenya (four flights because of numbers). We also need buses to ferry them between places of accommodation and exams.
  2. We must pay to have their birth certificates and IDs made so they could register for the KCSE.
  3. We also need to pay the visa fees into Kenya and the departure fees as well as their travel permits through South Sudan.
  4. Two teachers from Kenya must be with them (a male and female) especially to help with the practical exams.  
  5. We must buy the chemicals and some lab equipment that they need for the exams.
  6. Feed the students and pay for the two cooks we hire for them.
  7. Pay for accommodations for the students in in the two places they will stay in north Kenya
  8. Pay the schools in who are hosting our students in north Kenya. 
  9. Provide medical care for them should they have health issues such as malaria.

 

We have estimated the total cost to be between $120,000 – 140,000 US.

A better future against the odds

These students are a very small and privileged group who have made it to the end of secondary school in the Nuba Mountains. That they have made it at all to this point is a huge achievement, especially for the female students!

 

If we have to stop taking students to Kenya because of lack of funds then many students will leave the Nuba region and go to Kakuma, Khartoum, and other countries like Uganda, South Sudan and even Egypt in search of an education. They want and need proper, recognized certificates (like the Kenyan KCPE and KCPE).

 

Many of them will ultimately be the ones that will be trained and employed at the hospital as nurses, lab technicians, etc. that are needed to keep the hospital going. They are the ones who will join the teachers’ training in Kauda and become teachers for their own community schools.

 

They are the ones who will be the future leaders in the Nuba region.

How you can help

Your support means a better future for these 62 students who are desperately looking for a better life. By supporting the Nuba Water Project, you are not only providing an education to these amazing scholars…you’re making it possible for them to go back to their own communities and help others who need it.

 

Sign up for the Walk for Sudan on October 15th and/or give through ColoradoGives.org and Amazon Smile. Click on the links below for more information!

 

colorado giveswalk for sudanamazon smile