| Chronicles of Hope Newsletter
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A Meaningful Gift to your Loved Ones this Holiday Season
Dear Friends of PES:
2009 has been a year of continued growth and outreach with local, national and international connections for PES.
Supporters like you give hope to every child and student we are privileged to serve in southern Sudan.
This holiday season, please consider giving the gift of hope to the children of Jonglei Hope Secondary Academy, Ayak Anguei Girls Primary, and Pagook Secondary School. This year in particular Southern Sudan has experienced quite a lot of hardships. The people are suffering from food shortages and hunger, unrest and epidemic disease. We will be returning to Sudan in January 2010. To continue to bring hope to the children at this challenging time we need your help. In order to fulfill our goal of providing a safe dormitory for girls to sleep in, two more classrooms for young boys and girls to learn in, and girl's uniforms to identify their pride as one of the few girls who attend school, we are asking you to please consider giving a meaningful gift to your loved ones this holiday season. It will be a gift that makes a real difference in the children's lives.
"Southern Sudan is the least developed region in Sudan after a two-decade civil war, which ended in the signing of a peace agreement in 2005, and the situation has been worsened by plummeting oil prices. There's probably no region more negatively affected by the global meltdown, economic meltdown, than Southern Sudan."
Liz Grand
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan
We wish you Joy and Peace in this Holiday Season,
Co-Founder/Executive Director Co-Founder/Vice President |
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Inspiring Leadership in the Field
Panther Kelei, Pagook Field Coordinator By Katy Snyder
 We'd like to introduce you to Panther Kelei, Project Education Sudan's Field Coordinator in Pagook where PES is building a secondary school. He is absolutely essential to the success of the project. In his role as field coordinator, Panther is responsible for maintaining a connection between his village and PES. Panther is in constant communication. PES receives quarterly field reports with all accounting, images of construction progress and twice monthly email updates we pass on to our donors to keep them updated on how their donations are being spent. Likewise, he is responsible for receiving and distributing funds for school construction from PES in his village, purchasing materials, managing construction, and monitoring progress. He also evaluates and documents the progress made on Pagook's secondary school. Through our partnership with Panther, Project Education Sudan has completed two classrooms in Pagook's secondary school in May 2009.
PANTHER'S PERSONAL STORY
Panther grew up in both Pagook and Bor town. He began his education during the civil war at a United Nations sponsored school "under the trees" in Pagook. Panther was a good student and his first experiences at this school helped him to develop dreams and goals for his life. Unfortunately, around 1990 fighting intensified around his village, and local authorities convinced Panther's parents and many others to send their children with SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) soldiers to receive education away from the village. His parents agreed, believing he would be safer if he was able to leave Pagook. Along with many other boys, he ended up in Polataka, Ethiopia where he settled into a refugee camp. Eventually, the United Nations arrived and provided food and educational materials for the boys. After approximately a year in this camp, fighting in the area forced the boys to move again, this time closer to Sudan's border with Uganda. Eventually they returned to Polataka. Panther was able to complete third grade before their camp was attacked yet again. The boys fled again to the border of Sudan and Uganda and this time were able to stay for several years, allowing Panther to finish his studies through eighth grade.
A JOYFUL REUNION
By 1999, Panther and the other boys he had fled with had made their way to relative safety in Kakuma, Kenya in a large refugee camp managed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Here he was joyfully reunited with cousins from his home village of Pagook. In Kakuma, Panther was able to complete his education through grade 12. After teaching primary school in Kakuma for three years, Panther decided southern Sudan was stable enough for him to attempt to find his family in Pagook. It was now 2005 and Panther had not seen his family since 1990! Upon his return, Panther reconnected with his village and family and volunteered to teach school in Pagook, something he continues to do to this day.
In 2008, Panther's journey finally came full circle when he was appointed as Pagook Field Coordinator for Project Education Sudan. In his position, Panther is able to combine his love of education with love for his village and provide hundreds of children with the kind of education that he fought so hard to receive himself. Project Education Sudan is extremely grateful to Panther for his unwavering commitment to Pagook and his continued relationship with Project Education Sudan.
Panther says, "The project of building two classrooms as the beginning of Pagook Secondary School was successfully completed through total cooperation and tireless effort by Project Education Sudan and dedicated wonderful members in Pagook community. I am very pleased to work with PES and the people of my village."
"Currently I keep on educating the villagers for the future of this new secondary school in the area and its importance. No doubt in my mind to do what is best for the community and this is why I am always passionately and enthusiastically encouraging the Pagook community to organize, receive and welcome PES visitors to make them feel at home."
"Thank you, for the wonderful work you are doing. I am delighted to see the photos helping you in the process of raising money and educating your friends and donors of our story."
"God bless the PES team, the community of Pagook and the friendly people of the United States of America."
Sincerely,
Panther Kelei |
Help Us Meet The Challenge! By Alyssa Om'Iniabohs
GlobalGiving GLOBAL OPEN CHALLENGE - Ayak Anguei Girls School Dormitory
  Project Education Sudan has entered the Global OpenChallenge on GlobalGiving, an online marketplace for philanthropy. The Global Open Challenge runs from November 24, 2009 - December 21, 2009. Through the challenge, PES will have the opportunity to earn a permanent spot on the GlobalGiving website if we can raise $4,000 from at least 50 unique donors for our project during the 30 days listed above. A permanent spot on the GlobalGiving website will allow us to eventually post multiple projects for all our schools in southern Sudan. The three top projects in the challenge receiving the most funding will receive additional awards of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, respectively; the project receiving the greatest number of donations will receive an additional $3,000. Help us win a spot on GlobalGiving by donating $10 or more to our project during the Global Open Challenge. More information with a direct link to the challengewebpage will be in our Year-End Letter and on our website: www.projecteducationsudan.org.
During the challenge, PES will be raising funds for a two-room dormitory for Ayak Anguei Girls Primary School. Currently over 600 girls sleep on the ground warding off poisonous snakes and scorpions. |
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Start Making a Difference Now!
What your donation does for Children in Southern Sudan:
$50-Purchase a uniform & shoes
$75-Purchase a Bunk Bed
$150-Fund a Student for a Year
$200-Pay a Teacher's Salary for a Month
$250-Pay Head Master Salary for a Month
$500-Fund Iron Sheet Roof for One Classroom
$1,000-Buy School supplies for 600 Students for 1 year
$1,500-Fund Ten Students for a Year
$1,800-Pay a Teachers Salary for a Year
$1,800-Purchase a Brick-Making Machine
$2,000-Fund 100 Bags of Cement for 2 Classrooms
Any amount makes a difference in the life of a child in Southern Sudan
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