Sudan: Hope among Sudanese youth

Reconstruction, reconciliation, and education are the key elements for the peace to last. The MS Uganda Newsletter met Yei Day Secondary School students

By James B. Kimbowa

The youth in south Sudan have lived under harsh conditions, on the move and in fear of the war. Nevertheless they are hopeful and show confidence in the future.

“We lived together with my mother in different refugee camps in Congo and Uganda for more than five years. Moving from one refugee camp to another led to my poor performance and repeating classes,” says Kamish Kennedy, a senior four student in Yei Day Secondary School.

“Life in the refugee camps was also not pleasant. Often we were served with the same rations for quite a long time and once we were hit by a cholera outbreak. To make matters worse, sometimes rebel groups in the countries we took refugee would invade our camps,”

he says.

The students’ experiences include loss of family either in exchange of gunfire, air raids or the diseases encountered.

Reconciliation is essential

Still the will to forgiveness is great.

“Before people talk about reconstruction and development, it is important that we people in the south forgive and forget whatever the northern Sudan people did during the civil war. Otherwise we shall always live in uncertainty and fear of what will happen to whatever is going to be built,” says Asienzo Sony.

The group that met with the Newsletter, did not fully agree with this point. However Asienzo Sony stressed that, “without reconciliation, we shall never be able to trust each other.”

Reconciliation and reintegration are evident tasks that the Sudan governments will have to address with care. There has always been a need for an understanding and reconciliation between the people of northern and southern Sudan. But now the south is also faced with the challenge of integration of her peoples. The possible divisions run not only along ethnic lines. How they spent the war years also distinguishes them, for instance education-wise: Between those who stayed in Sudan without opportunity to further their education. And those who went into exile, got the opportunity to study and probably will handle the administrative jobs in the future.

Looking at the future Kennedy says:

“I am happy that I am now studying but my worry is that after senior four I would like to continue. However, in southern Sudan there are few A level schools and my family can not afford to send me to Uganda. And the curriculum in the north requires knowledge of the Arabic language, which I do not have.”

The government of southern Sudan is faced with challenges of restructuring the education system, getting trained teachers, building schools and equipping them with enough scholastic material, and also to cater for its people who missed out on education during the conflict situation.

“I wish the government could encourage everybody to engage in productive work. People should be supported in doing different trades by providing loans to them,” says Malisha Moses.

He also points at the need for strong democratic structures.

“We have enough resources to sustain us, but having all land mines cleared and laying down the guns is not enough. We also need good laws and a corruption free Sudan if we are to have sustainable development.”

EXTRA

Sudanese statistics

Health:

The lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is one in nine, four times bigger than that of the rest of Sudan. The proportion of births attended by skilled health staff in southern Sudan is 5 per cent, the lowest in the world. In the rest of Sudan 65 per cent of births are attended by skilled health staff.

Education:

Only one in every five children of school going age is enrolled in primary school. This is the lowest enrolment found anywhere in the world. Only two out of one hundred complete primary school with grade seven, again the lowest complement ratio in the world.

Female enrolment and completion ratios as compared to male enrolment and completion ratios are the lowest in the world. There are only 35 girls in primary schools for every 100 boys, and only 8 out of 1,000 enrolled girls complete primary school with grade seven as compared to 30 out of 1000 boys. Only Afghanistan during the Taliban regime had more gender biased figures. In Uganda 76% male above 10 years are literate while 61% female are literate while the overall literacy rate is 68%

Water:

The level of access to an improved water source is 27% for southern Sudan, while it is more than 70 per cent in the rest of Sudan. In Uganda 61% household have access to safe water supply. With 93% in urban areas and 56% in rural areas

Economy:

The per capita income in southern Sudan is estimated to be less than US$ 90 per year, alongside the very poor countries in the world. Income for the rest of Sudan is four times higher. 90% of the population earn less than one dollar a day.