“Our mandate is to protect civilians and build durable peace. Education is key to sustainable development.”

Thus spoke Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, representing the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, at a ceremony where a brand new primary school was handed over to the jubilant community of Awada, near Aweil.

Others, like William Deng, one of approximately 320 pupils set to enjoy the new learning facilities, cut to the chase.

“I will not sit under the tree anymore. UNMISS has built a very good house for us here in Hai Matar,” he said, referring to his previous open-air classroom, a wind-swept place where, should one wish to, lighting a piece of candlewax was rarely possible and any downpour threatened to ruin scarce school books.

The four-classroom facility, financed by the peacekeeping mission and built by the Future Alive Organization Services, has cost 49,000 USD to construct but will save many a lesson from being cancelled.  

“Accept my appreciation for what you have done for us,” said Angelo Atak Akol, Aweil’s minister of education. “We might not have built these four classrooms without you.”

In its first incarnation, the Hai Matar Primary School was built by the local community in 2006, using local materials such as grass and bamboo. Eco-friendly as it was, the wobbly structure proved unsafe and the keen, young learners, not to mention their teachers, had to resort to go about their activities under suitable trees.  

Apart from children originating from Awada, the sons and daughters of displaced families from Wau and other nearby areas will also relish the opportunity to attend indoor classes.
For some, however, walls and a roof should be just the beginning of the resurrection of the educational facilities.

“We need textbooks, shoes and uniforms,” says student Angelo Thou. “I need them (UNMISS) to support us with sport items also.”

Deputy County Director John Boi Upoth is similarly forward-thinking and adds a secondary school to the Awada wish list, while teacher Elias Achuwa has another priority in mind.

 “What we need now is a health center,” he says Elias Achuwa. “That way pupils [who fall sick] can be treated nearby instead of rushed all the way to town.”