Introduction
Gathering stones for the foundations
Under Tree Schools is a charity based in Kidderminster in Worcestershire 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 of 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 few local schools 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. The school, which has an Anglican Christian ethos, though children of other faiths or none are welcome, opened in April 2009 and its fifth year started in May 2013. It is independent of the administrations of the state and church, though both state and church support are welcomed.
Over 400 girls aged from 6 – 15 are being taught alongside more children in the nursery. 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, basket ball court and football pitch.
In 2011 we began to provide education for adults as well as the children; solar power has been installed which makes it possible to teach after dark and use all our class rooms to their full capacity. We have built a permanent kitchen and canteen for the girls, this means we fit the requirement of the WHO to receive food for one meal / day for the children. Vocational skills like sewing are being taught and small scale farming. We are hoping to extend these skills to tile making and bike repairs in the near future.
You can watch a video about the school from 2009 on YouTube by following this link
Under Tree Schools was the vision of 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 few local schools 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. The school, which has an Anglican Christian ethos, though children of other faiths or none are welcome, opened in April 2009 and its fifth year started in May 2013. It is independent of the administrations of the state and church, though both state and church support are welcomed.
Over 400 girls aged from 6 – 15 are being taught alongside more children in the nursery. 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, basket ball court and football pitch.
In 2011 we began to provide education for adults as well as the children; solar power has been installed which makes it possible to teach after dark and use all our class rooms to their full capacity. We have built a permanent kitchen and canteen for the girls, this means we fit the requirement of the WHO to receive food for one meal / day for the children. Vocational skills like sewing are being taught and small scale farming. We are hoping to extend these skills to tile making and bike repairs in the near future.
You can watch a video about the school from 2009 on YouTube by following this link
In the autumn of 2012 the school chapel has been completed, it has been built by the local community for an expanding church congregation, there are now around 700 people participating in the services. The church community is being served by our school chaplain and a lay reader. The facilities are being used throughout the week for additional adult education and Bible teaching.
The School Chapel
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 The School Flag |
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Now we need to ensure we can pay the running costs of the school, and we need to add a library, expand our farm and vocational skill training.
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 in the newest country of the world!
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 in the newest country of the world!
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.
