PROJECT TITLE:
TOPOSA EAST EDUCATION PROJECT

This request is for funds to run a school in South Sudan . The people identified education as one of their prime needs. There is no other school in the area which has a population of over 60,000. The Sudanese are pastoralists and semi-nomadic.

There has been a civil war in the Sudan since 1983. In January 2005, a comprehensive peace agreement was signed. But much of the infrastructure, including schools had been destroyed. There is no government presence in the area either so the churches are trying to help provide healthcare, education and clean water.

One of the main reasons why the people desperately want this school is because their real hope lies in educating their children so that one day these educated youngsters will provide a better future for their whole community.

However, the children must pay a fee to attend school. Although the people really can't afford the fees. Last year $500 was collected in fees. This is not nearly enough to run the school. But the parents are more attentive to making sure their children come to school because of the fee they are paying.

Thanks to outside contributions, 9 classrooms have been built together with an Assembly Hall, library and teachers' housing.

Another group is underwriting the feeding program. This is important because without a feeding program, there would be no children attending school.

The people are in the process of trying to form a government in place to help financially support the school.

The Toposa School is seeking $3,000 from Edge International to help underwrite part of their program. The funds will be used to pay teachers to come teach at the school. Teachers must be brought in from outside the region because so few people are educated in the immediate area.