Introduction
Under Tree Schools is a charity based in Kidderminster in Worcestershire that is helping a community in Malek Alel, in rural South Sudan, to grow into a self-sustaining and thriving place for families. We want to provide a good future for the town that was shattered by the civil war for the best part of 50 years. Now that there is peace again and families are returning to their homes, education for the girls will help lift their community out of subsistence and bring them a better life. With the referendum in 2011 overwhelmingly voting for a new, independent South Sudan, the education of young people in general and girls in particular has taken on an even greater importance. By providing them with a sound education it means that, as adults, they can help the new country stand on its own feet. The girls in the town need to learn the academic skills that will equip them to get good jobs if they wish. They will learn the vocational skills of agriculture, health education, and domestic abilities that they will need to be able to bring up families prosperously.
Under Tree Schools was the vision Joseph Ayok-Loewenberg, a Sudanese born priest and former member of the Sudanese Olympic team. He spent many years with his wife Karin working with Sudanese exiles in London, Uganda and Egypt. In 2000, in the area of Malek, Joseph and Karin had set up schools under trees during the war and the charity was established in 2006. Since then we are building a school for girls that will give them an excellent education and will set the standard for schools in the county. Joseph and the local community wanted the school to give priority to girls who have had no education. There are very few other schools active in the area, though the state has started to rebuild a local school for boys. For logistical and security reasons, charities and other bodies tend to operate nearer the external borders of Southern Sudan and tend not venture more permanently into the centre of the country.
This project is being developed in partnership with members of the local community, who are being consulted on the way the school is run. Local people are represented on the governing body. In 2011 we are beginning to provide education for adults as well as the children and we are preparing to build a permanent kitchen and canteen for the girls.
You can watch a video about the school on YouTube by following this link
Under Tree Schools was the vision Joseph Ayok-Loewenberg, a Sudanese born priest and former member of the Sudanese Olympic team. He spent many years with his wife Karin working with Sudanese exiles in London, Uganda and Egypt. In 2000, in the area of Malek, Joseph and Karin had set up schools under trees during the war and the charity was established in 2006. Since then we are building a school for girls that will give them an excellent education and will set the standard for schools in the county. Joseph and the local community wanted the school to give priority to girls who have had no education. There are very few other schools active in the area, though the state has started to rebuild a local school for boys. For logistical and security reasons, charities and other bodies tend to operate nearer the external borders of Southern Sudan and tend not venture more permanently into the centre of the country.
This project is being developed in partnership with members of the local community, who are being consulted on the way the school is run. Local people are represented on the governing body. In 2011 we are beginning to provide education for adults as well as the children and we are preparing to build a permanent kitchen and canteen for the girls.
You can watch a video about the school on YouTube by following this link
We are planning for vocational training alongside the academic
curriculum and want to build rooms to teach agriculture, sewing and
other skills.
The school, which has an Anglican Christian ethos, though children of other faiths or none are welcome, opened in April 2009 and its second year started in May 2010. Over 200 girls aged from 6 – 15 are being taught in eight classes. The school buildings include eight classrooms, administrative offices, 12 accommodation huts for staff, a teachers’ meeting hut and toilets for staff and for pupils. There is a borehole for water and a sports ground has been levelled. |  The School Flag |
It is independent of the administrations of the state and of the church, though both state and church support are welcomed.
Now we need to ensure we can pay the running costs of the school, and we need to add a library and a chapel.
Can you introduce us to a school or an organisation that might want to support us? We are building a long term relationship with the school and its town of Malek: come and join us in building links with them!
Now we need to ensure we can pay the running costs of the school, and we need to add a library and a chapel.
Can you introduce us to a school or an organisation that might want to support us? We are building a long term relationship with the school and its town of Malek: come and join us in building links with them!
The School is in Malek Alel, in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State, South Sudan
Under Tree Schools is a registered charity no. 1117679, and a private limited company registered in England and Wales no. 5969781.
Registered office: 11, Foinavon Close, Rowley Regis, West Midlands B65 8QB.
Registered office: 11, Foinavon Close, Rowley Regis, West Midlands B65 8QB.
