Some 600 pupils in Bentiu are celebrating an end to torturous rainy days, thanks to the timely intervention of Mongolian United Nations peacekeepers serving in the area.

The Mongolian peacekeepers, serving under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), have renovated two schools – Kumagon Primary School and Pariang Hope Nursery School – and provided 50 chairs and 80 tables to both schools.

“When it is about to rain, we don’t stay in school because we study under this tree,” said Angelina Peter, a six-year-old pupil at Pariang Hope Nursery School. “The class you see over there is very small for all of us and there’re no plastic sheets up there,” she added, before proudly concluding:

 “Now, UN peacekeepers have built three additional classrooms and a toilet, so now our school becomes the best.”

Tudel Wal Gatluak, the Director of Pariang Hope Nursery School, appreciated UNMISS for doing some projects that are not part of their mandate of protecting civilians.

“The main duty of UNMISS in South Sudan is to protect civilians but now they are using many ways to improve our situation, such as providing medical services, renovating schools, as well as supplying tables and chairs. This is a good initiative; please continue with this spirit,” he said, addressing the peacekeepers directly.

“Our being here is to support the people of South Sudan and protect those in need of our protection as our core mandate. Yet, we are also providing things like renovation of schools as well as providing medical services to the local population in need,” said Colonel Jawkhlanbayar Dondogdory, the Commander of the Mongolian Battalion in Greater Unity.

“We have witnessed a lot of activities from UNMISS especially during this difficult time,” said Abraham Athoi, Ruweng area’s Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare. “They are here to support us. They protect civilians, and now [have] built these beautiful class rooms. Now it is our collective responsibility to make sure that all children come to school,” she concluded.

It is the fifth time the peacekeepers have gone beyond their established mandate in recent months to inject their own money into renovating schools in Pariang.