Cece Primary School in South Sudan

In June 2015, Cece school was opened by Pascalina Idreanngwa, Chairperson, Cece People Living with HIV/AIDS and Rebecca Mallinson a British volunteer living in Nimule. Rebecca remains in South Sudan still working courageously for the children of South Sudan.

The Cece School's motto is - 'A hope for a better life' - for the children have no chance of any change for the better without education. The school is open for children from families with HIV/AIDS, disabilities and orphans, who remain very much stigmatized in a very traumatised society. Every day the children are given millet porridge with sesame paste, with some of the children only having one meal a day at home. There are no school fees.

The civil war has plundered families and children and even though peace has been declared, life is still far from peaceful. There are frequent ambushes on the road between Nimule and Juba, recently two religious sisters were killed. In Nimule itself, since Covid broke out and the schools closed, a lot of older youth have joined gangs that destroy property and lives. Cece's school playground was destroyed. To help steer our pupils away from gang membership, we have recently started a girls club and a boys club for the older pupils. Only schools can break the vicious cycle of destitution and violence.

Schools in South Sudan have now been open since May, but a second lockdown of schools in Uganda is causing many South Sudanese families and teachers to return home. This has created an extra demand for school places, but also a new pool of trained teachers who were not previously available.

Teachers are the biggest investment in the Cece school and is its heaviest expense. It now employs 13 teachers but lacks the regular income to pay them. The school is currently operating at a $1,000 deficit each month and needs to secure funding to pay the teachers and to sustain the school. There are other needs such as another block of classrooms and improved school security but these are well beyond its current resources. Cece School would be hugely grateful from any support from generous Australians with big hearts.