A Doctor for South Sudan
Donation protected
Hello! We are Amanda, Anna, Ashley and Jason: four journalists who have spent years living and working in South Sudan.
We are raising money for our South Sudanese friend and colleague, Mawiyai Gabriel Buom, so he can attend medical school in Uganda.
For all his adult life, Mawiyai has worked towards achieving his dream of becoming a doctor and combating the shockingly high rates of maternal and infant mortality in South Sudan, where thousands of women and babies die preventable deaths each year due to lack of health care workers and facilities.
Recurring conflicts in South Sudan have consistently interrupted Mawiyai's journey. Most recently, civil war broke out in 2013, killing up to 400,000 people in what is the world's deadliest conflict after Syria. Even so, Mawiyai has managed to complete the herculean task of finishing a three-year midwifery course in South Sudan, while criss-crossing some of the country's most violent regions working for humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Mawiyai has endured more hardship than most of us can imagine. When he gained admission to St. Augustine International University in Kampala, Uganda last year, we raised the money for him to start classes this January. So far, we've covered the cost of his first semester, books, school supplies and a laptop computer.
Now, we turn to you, our friends, family, and colleagues. We need your help to raise the rest of the $30,000 that Mawiyai needs to complete the five year degree and achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.
Your donation will go towards covering the cost of Mawiyai's tuition, his room near campus, transportation, lab materials, books, pens, pencils, and other costs.
Investing in Mawiyai is an investment in a brighter, healthier future for the mothers and children of the world’s youngest country. Keep reading below to learn more about Mawiyai and our campaign.
Upon graduation, Mawiyai is committed to returning to South Sudan to work as a physician. He plans to be an OB/GYN because he’s passionate about women and children's health. As a doctor, Mawiyai will be an invaluable asset to his country: South Sudan faces a devastating lack of trained health care professionals, and according to UNICEF has the fifth highest maternal mortality rate on earth, as well as the highest rate of children not in school.
Before the war started in 2013, the World Health Organization said there was only one physician for every 65,574 people, and one midwife for every 39,088 women. The conflict has devastated the country's already fragile healthcare system, and if reliable statistics could be found today, they would surely be worse.
With your help, Mawiyai can make a difference in those numbers. You’ll also be helping a man who helps himself to achieve his dream.
Mawiyai is kind, whip-smart, driven, and cares deeply about his work. The fact that he has come this far despite the horror in his midst is a testament to both his character and his skills. After working closely with him in South Sudan, and given his background and extensive experience already in the medical profession, we are confident that Mawiyai can handle the demands of earning his Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery at St. Augustine.
You can find more information here about Mawiyai and the struggle for education in South Sudan. Below you'll also find a detailed summary of Mawiyai's incredible life story, as well as FAQs about our fundraising campaign.
We thank you for your consideration, and deeply appreciate any donation. No amount is too small or large. As Mawiyai says, every donation will help thousands of people in South Sudan through him.
We would also love if you shared this campaign as widely as possible with your friends and family to help get the word out about how to support Mawiyai.
MAWIYAI'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY:
Born in Leer, a town in South Sudan’s swampy, oil rich north, Mawiyai was inspired to pursue medicine when a local woman died of excessive bleeding after giving birth. At the time, South Sudan was mired in the 1983-2005 Second Sudanese Civil War, and there was no doctor available to help. That day Mawiyai resolved he would become a doctor.
When he was twelve, Mawiyai fled South Sudan to a Kenyan refugee camp to avoid being recruited as a child soldier. He lived there for six years until an uncle managed to move him to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where he completed primary school. In late 2007, however, political violence broke out in Kenya following a disputed election, leaving over 1000 people dead. Mawiyai's uncle moved him again, this time to Uganda. Mawiyai attended and graduated secondary school in the capital Kampala, and then returned to Leer. By then, the long civil war had ended. In 2011, he voted in Leer for South Sudan's independence from northern Sudan. After South Sudan became the world's newest nation, he enrolled in a three-year midwifery course funded by the Canadian government at South Sudan's National Health Science Institute in Maridi, a town in the country's southern Equatoria region.
Things seemed to be going well. In December 2013, after completing his second year in Maridi, Mawiyai was in Juba, the capital, for the Christmas holiday. But on December 15th war broke out. A faction of the country's presidential guard loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, battled another faction loyal to the former vice president Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer. Dinka soldiers and militia went through Juba, massacring Nuer citizens. In response, Nuer soldiers and militia massacred Dinka and other South Sudanese citizens in other parts of the country. South Sudan plunged into a civil war that continues today.
As a Nuer, Mawiyai was in grave danger in Juba. He abandoned his studies and headed north, back to Leer, where he thought he might be safe. With his skills as a midwife-in-training, he found a job with MSF treating women and children. Through most of 2014 and the start of 2015 he lived peacefully in Leer, helping vaccinate children, deliver babies, and care for mothers.
But in 2015, Leer became an epicenter of fighting. MSF evacuated its foreign doctors. Mawiyai grabbed a medical kit and fled to the swamps with other civilians, seeking shelter. But without any local South Sudanese doctors, once again women were dying in childbirth. Without advanced training, Mawiyai could not save some of them. The violence lasted for months. Soldiers burned Leer and other towns and villages. Over 7,000 people died, according to the UN. Mawiyai survived, and fled with his wife and children south to a safer town called Nyal. There, he was hired to help survivors of sexual violence for the International Rescue Committee. This is also where we first met him.
In 2016, after a peace deal, rebel leader Machar returned to Juba, and the conflict slowed. Mawiyai leveraged the lull in fighting to get his wife and children safely out of South Sudan. First they traveled up the Nile from Leer to Juba, before settling in Uganda.
But Mawiyai would not give up on his education. Despite the risk, he returned to South Sudan to finish the midwife degree he started five years earlier in Maridi.
Once again, war found him. In July 2016, South Sudan's peace deal collapsed, and the southern Equatoria region around Maridi became the new front. Suddenly, everyone was a target in a messy conflict with many factions. Mawiyai and the other midwife students remained inside their school compound as gunshots rang outside. Whether they were Nuer, Dinka, Equatorian, or another ethnicity, inside the compound they resolved to just be South Sudanese and focus on their studies. Despite some close calls, none of the students were killed. At last, in 2017, Mawiyai completed his third year at the Institute, and graduated with a diploma in midwifery.
Mawiyai put his education to use almost right away. He found a job with the International Medical Corps in Juba, before transferring to a small town called Pibor in the country's east to work for a South Sudanese charity called Christian Recovery and Development Agency. In Pibor, he crossed rivers and hiked through forests to bring health care to his fellow South Sudanese living in remote villages.
He stayed in Pibor until December 2018, when he finally gained acceptance to St. Augustine. We gathered enough money for his first semester, and he started classes in January. Now, we ask you to help Mawiyai continue his incredible journey, so that despite all the obstacles he has faced, he can fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor to support South Sudan’s mothers and children.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What will the funds pay for?
Mawiyai's tuition is $2,500 per semester. Over five years, that comes out to $25,000. We are raising a total of $30,000 in order to also cover the cost of textbooks, lab supplies, notebooks, pens, other school supplies and fees, transportation, as well as costs associated with moving to Kampala.
Where will you keep the funds over the next five years?
Once the fundraiser is complete, we will deposit the money in a bank account which we opened in Kampala. We will wire or withdraw money each semester to pay for tuition and other associated costs. We decided to bank in Uganda in order to reduce transfer fees.
Why St. Augustine International University?
Mawiyai considered many schools in Uganda, and ultimately chose St. Augustine for a variety of reasons. First, it is a private, international university, so it is more easily accessible to foreign students like Mawiyai compared to Uganda's public universities which give preference to Ugandan nationals. Second, the international status of the university provides a more diverse group of students, including Nigerians, Somalis, Indians, and many others. Professors also hail from various nationalities, bringing different perspectives and international standards. As a private school with a smaller student body, St. Augustine also allows for students to have more interaction with professors and practical experience in labs. Before enrolling at St. Augustine, Mawiyai consulted a leading medical professor at Uganda's top public university, called Makerere. That professor advised him to enroll at St. Augustine both for the quality of the professors and because it would be more accessible for him as a foreigner than a public school.
What will Mawiyai be able to do with his degree?
With your help, Mawiyai will receive a five-year Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery. This degree will allow him to practice as a doctor, including prescribing drugs and conducting surgeries such as caesarean sections.
What happens if we exceed our goal?
First, we'll celebrate, but with our own money! Then, we'll keep any extra funds in the bank account as a "rainy day fund" in case of any unexpected costs that would impede Mawiyai's studies.
How can I stay informed about Mawiyai's progress?
By donating, you will automatically be signed up to receive periodic updates from us on Mawiyai's progress. Stay tuned for more!
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Please consult gofundme's explanation here.
Where can I learn more about South Sudan?
There are many books about South Sudan, but here are a few noteworthy titles to get you started:
Collapse of a Country, by Nick Coghlan
The Dilemma of the Southern Intellectual: Is It Justified?, by Joseph Garang
Emma's War, by Deborah Scroggins
First Raise a Flag, by Peter Martell
Nuer Dilemmas, by Sharon Hutchinson
The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan, by Peter Adwok Nyaba
What is the What, by Dave Eggers
These websites are also useful for news and other information about South Sudan:
Sudan Tribune
Radio Tamazuj
Voice of America's South Sudan in Focus
IRIN News
US Holocaust Memorial Museum - South Sudan case file
South Sudan Museum Network
We Come As Friends (film)
Once again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST! PLEASE SUPPORT MAWIYAI AND SOUTH SUDAN!
Shukran!
We are raising money for our South Sudanese friend and colleague, Mawiyai Gabriel Buom, so he can attend medical school in Uganda.
For all his adult life, Mawiyai has worked towards achieving his dream of becoming a doctor and combating the shockingly high rates of maternal and infant mortality in South Sudan, where thousands of women and babies die preventable deaths each year due to lack of health care workers and facilities.
Recurring conflicts in South Sudan have consistently interrupted Mawiyai's journey. Most recently, civil war broke out in 2013, killing up to 400,000 people in what is the world's deadliest conflict after Syria. Even so, Mawiyai has managed to complete the herculean task of finishing a three-year midwifery course in South Sudan, while criss-crossing some of the country's most violent regions working for humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Mawiyai has endured more hardship than most of us can imagine. When he gained admission to St. Augustine International University in Kampala, Uganda last year, we raised the money for him to start classes this January. So far, we've covered the cost of his first semester, books, school supplies and a laptop computer.
Now, we turn to you, our friends, family, and colleagues. We need your help to raise the rest of the $30,000 that Mawiyai needs to complete the five year degree and achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.
Your donation will go towards covering the cost of Mawiyai's tuition, his room near campus, transportation, lab materials, books, pens, pencils, and other costs.
Investing in Mawiyai is an investment in a brighter, healthier future for the mothers and children of the world’s youngest country. Keep reading below to learn more about Mawiyai and our campaign.
Upon graduation, Mawiyai is committed to returning to South Sudan to work as a physician. He plans to be an OB/GYN because he’s passionate about women and children's health. As a doctor, Mawiyai will be an invaluable asset to his country: South Sudan faces a devastating lack of trained health care professionals, and according to UNICEF has the fifth highest maternal mortality rate on earth, as well as the highest rate of children not in school.
Before the war started in 2013, the World Health Organization said there was only one physician for every 65,574 people, and one midwife for every 39,088 women. The conflict has devastated the country's already fragile healthcare system, and if reliable statistics could be found today, they would surely be worse.
With your help, Mawiyai can make a difference in those numbers. You’ll also be helping a man who helps himself to achieve his dream.
Mawiyai is kind, whip-smart, driven, and cares deeply about his work. The fact that he has come this far despite the horror in his midst is a testament to both his character and his skills. After working closely with him in South Sudan, and given his background and extensive experience already in the medical profession, we are confident that Mawiyai can handle the demands of earning his Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery at St. Augustine.
You can find more information here about Mawiyai and the struggle for education in South Sudan. Below you'll also find a detailed summary of Mawiyai's incredible life story, as well as FAQs about our fundraising campaign.
We thank you for your consideration, and deeply appreciate any donation. No amount is too small or large. As Mawiyai says, every donation will help thousands of people in South Sudan through him.
We would also love if you shared this campaign as widely as possible with your friends and family to help get the word out about how to support Mawiyai.
MAWIYAI'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY:
Born in Leer, a town in South Sudan’s swampy, oil rich north, Mawiyai was inspired to pursue medicine when a local woman died of excessive bleeding after giving birth. At the time, South Sudan was mired in the 1983-2005 Second Sudanese Civil War, and there was no doctor available to help. That day Mawiyai resolved he would become a doctor.
When he was twelve, Mawiyai fled South Sudan to a Kenyan refugee camp to avoid being recruited as a child soldier. He lived there for six years until an uncle managed to move him to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where he completed primary school. In late 2007, however, political violence broke out in Kenya following a disputed election, leaving over 1000 people dead. Mawiyai's uncle moved him again, this time to Uganda. Mawiyai attended and graduated secondary school in the capital Kampala, and then returned to Leer. By then, the long civil war had ended. In 2011, he voted in Leer for South Sudan's independence from northern Sudan. After South Sudan became the world's newest nation, he enrolled in a three-year midwifery course funded by the Canadian government at South Sudan's National Health Science Institute in Maridi, a town in the country's southern Equatoria region.
Things seemed to be going well. In December 2013, after completing his second year in Maridi, Mawiyai was in Juba, the capital, for the Christmas holiday. But on December 15th war broke out. A faction of the country's presidential guard loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, battled another faction loyal to the former vice president Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer. Dinka soldiers and militia went through Juba, massacring Nuer citizens. In response, Nuer soldiers and militia massacred Dinka and other South Sudanese citizens in other parts of the country. South Sudan plunged into a civil war that continues today.
As a Nuer, Mawiyai was in grave danger in Juba. He abandoned his studies and headed north, back to Leer, where he thought he might be safe. With his skills as a midwife-in-training, he found a job with MSF treating women and children. Through most of 2014 and the start of 2015 he lived peacefully in Leer, helping vaccinate children, deliver babies, and care for mothers.
But in 2015, Leer became an epicenter of fighting. MSF evacuated its foreign doctors. Mawiyai grabbed a medical kit and fled to the swamps with other civilians, seeking shelter. But without any local South Sudanese doctors, once again women were dying in childbirth. Without advanced training, Mawiyai could not save some of them. The violence lasted for months. Soldiers burned Leer and other towns and villages. Over 7,000 people died, according to the UN. Mawiyai survived, and fled with his wife and children south to a safer town called Nyal. There, he was hired to help survivors of sexual violence for the International Rescue Committee. This is also where we first met him.
In 2016, after a peace deal, rebel leader Machar returned to Juba, and the conflict slowed. Mawiyai leveraged the lull in fighting to get his wife and children safely out of South Sudan. First they traveled up the Nile from Leer to Juba, before settling in Uganda.
But Mawiyai would not give up on his education. Despite the risk, he returned to South Sudan to finish the midwife degree he started five years earlier in Maridi.
Once again, war found him. In July 2016, South Sudan's peace deal collapsed, and the southern Equatoria region around Maridi became the new front. Suddenly, everyone was a target in a messy conflict with many factions. Mawiyai and the other midwife students remained inside their school compound as gunshots rang outside. Whether they were Nuer, Dinka, Equatorian, or another ethnicity, inside the compound they resolved to just be South Sudanese and focus on their studies. Despite some close calls, none of the students were killed. At last, in 2017, Mawiyai completed his third year at the Institute, and graduated with a diploma in midwifery.
Mawiyai put his education to use almost right away. He found a job with the International Medical Corps in Juba, before transferring to a small town called Pibor in the country's east to work for a South Sudanese charity called Christian Recovery and Development Agency. In Pibor, he crossed rivers and hiked through forests to bring health care to his fellow South Sudanese living in remote villages.
He stayed in Pibor until December 2018, when he finally gained acceptance to St. Augustine. We gathered enough money for his first semester, and he started classes in January. Now, we ask you to help Mawiyai continue his incredible journey, so that despite all the obstacles he has faced, he can fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor to support South Sudan’s mothers and children.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What will the funds pay for?
Mawiyai's tuition is $2,500 per semester. Over five years, that comes out to $25,000. We are raising a total of $30,000 in order to also cover the cost of textbooks, lab supplies, notebooks, pens, other school supplies and fees, transportation, as well as costs associated with moving to Kampala.
Where will you keep the funds over the next five years?
Once the fundraiser is complete, we will deposit the money in a bank account which we opened in Kampala. We will wire or withdraw money each semester to pay for tuition and other associated costs. We decided to bank in Uganda in order to reduce transfer fees.
Why St. Augustine International University?
Mawiyai considered many schools in Uganda, and ultimately chose St. Augustine for a variety of reasons. First, it is a private, international university, so it is more easily accessible to foreign students like Mawiyai compared to Uganda's public universities which give preference to Ugandan nationals. Second, the international status of the university provides a more diverse group of students, including Nigerians, Somalis, Indians, and many others. Professors also hail from various nationalities, bringing different perspectives and international standards. As a private school with a smaller student body, St. Augustine also allows for students to have more interaction with professors and practical experience in labs. Before enrolling at St. Augustine, Mawiyai consulted a leading medical professor at Uganda's top public university, called Makerere. That professor advised him to enroll at St. Augustine both for the quality of the professors and because it would be more accessible for him as a foreigner than a public school.
What will Mawiyai be able to do with his degree?
With your help, Mawiyai will receive a five-year Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery. This degree will allow him to practice as a doctor, including prescribing drugs and conducting surgeries such as caesarean sections.
What happens if we exceed our goal?
First, we'll celebrate, but with our own money! Then, we'll keep any extra funds in the bank account as a "rainy day fund" in case of any unexpected costs that would impede Mawiyai's studies.
How can I stay informed about Mawiyai's progress?
By donating, you will automatically be signed up to receive periodic updates from us on Mawiyai's progress. Stay tuned for more!
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Please consult gofundme's explanation here.
Where can I learn more about South Sudan?
There are many books about South Sudan, but here are a few noteworthy titles to get you started:
Collapse of a Country, by Nick Coghlan
The Dilemma of the Southern Intellectual: Is It Justified?, by Joseph Garang
Emma's War, by Deborah Scroggins
First Raise a Flag, by Peter Martell
Nuer Dilemmas, by Sharon Hutchinson
The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan, by Peter Adwok Nyaba
What is the What, by Dave Eggers
These websites are also useful for news and other information about South Sudan:
Sudan Tribune
Radio Tamazuj
Voice of America's South Sudan in Focus
IRIN News
US Holocaust Memorial Museum - South Sudan case file
South Sudan Museum Network
We Come As Friends (film)
Once again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST! PLEASE SUPPORT MAWIYAI AND SOUTH SUDAN!
Shukran!
Co-organizers (4)
Amanda Sperber
Organizer
Mamaroneck, NY
Jason Patinkin
Co-organizer
Anna Cavell
Co-organizer
ASHLEY HAMER
Co-organizer