School News

2010 News

Marol School Library nears completion:

A third classroom block is needed to accommodate the increasing demand of pupils wanting to enroll at the Marol School (613 are enrolled in the current, 2010 school year). Also urgently needed is a library/reading room. Marol local decision makers decided the library would have priority for summer 2010 construction.

Many have contributed to funding this effort—in the U.K., the U.S., and in Bonn, Germany. Rainer Zaeck, managing director of the Akadamie fur Internationale Bildung soliticited funds for the Marol library from those attending his 60th birthday celebration in May. Jok spoke at two fund-raisers held in Los Angeles, one in March (Dan Hyslop/ Rebecca Danelski’s home) and one in May (a joint effort of the Wehbi, Sundeen, Mathieu families). Jok explained that pupils attending Marol School have no access to books, except what a school library or reading room could provide. Marol teachers see a need for reading practice, and as pupils have no books of their own, with a school library and books they will be able to practice reading before, during and after school hours.

Jok and Naomi had contributed their own monies to complete the library, but Jok has just written that friends of Marol in the U.K. have generously offered the necessary funds to complete the library project. This kind donation frees the funds Jok and Naomi had contributed toward the library toward materials needed for building the third classroom structure. The bricks have been purchased in Wau, but await the end of the rain season when the road is passable for delivery to Marol.

Some have asked about sending books for the library at Marol. As the cost of shipping books is prohibitively expensive, and with no assurance that what is sent will arrive, money donations for purchase of books ‘locally’ are welcomed.

(posted: August 16, 2010)

Seattle Residents to Visit Marol:

Frank and Pam McKulka, friends of the Marol School, plan to visit Marol in November of this year, as they will be visiting their son, a photographer for the United Nations Mission in Sudan and his wife, a human rights lawyer who has started a women’s cooperative in Juba, the capitol of South Sudan.

Makah school children initiate ‘pen pal’ relationship with Marol school children:

When Jok left L.A. in May for Marol (South Sudan) to stay until September, he carried with him a large packet sent by Americorps teacher, Lucy Cutler. Lucy came up with the idea of the 3rd grade pupils at the Neah Bay,WA (Olympic Peninsula) school, becoming ‘pen pals’ to the pupils at the Marol School.

When the Makah pupils learned there were child soldiers in Africa, they questioned why children their own age didn’t “just go to school and not to war?” Lucy knew of the Marol School project and thought it would be an effective exchange for the two groups of school children to learn about one another through sharing letters, photos, and other information about their daily lives. Lucy Cutler and Naomi Pendle, teacher from the U.k., volunteer teaching at Marol this year, corresponded with each other and agreed on the benefits of this effort to both groups of pupils. (Both have our great thanks!)

Jok thought it a fine idea, except these two groups of children would not have a conventional ‘pen pal’ correspondence--there’s no mail delivery to Marol! So, Jok donned his postal ‘hat’ and carried the letters, hand-written by each child with her/his picture at the top of the letter page. Each child also made either a bracelet or a paper-airplane individually colored and tucked in the envelope with their personal letter to their ‘pen pal.’ Lucy enclosed a class picture of the third-graders and information about the history and culture of the Makah tribal people who traditionally, have been whalers.

Jok’s plan is to return with letters from the Marol pupils, to be sent to Neah Bay, in September. Though Ms. Cutler is currently applying to join the Peace Corps, she arranged with the 4th grade teacher to continue the ‘pen pal’ relationship with those youngsters moving to that next grade in fall.

(posted August 15, 2010)

2009 News

Many developments have taken place this year at the Marol School, most important of which is the completion of some very crucial construction phase. The school now has 6 class rooms built of concrete material, as opposed to the previous structures which were very rudimentary in nature. Also the school now has a source of clean drinking water, a bore hole, courtesy of a strong collaboration between UNICEF, CESVI and the Marol Academy. We also have 3 pit latrines, which are extremely important for the maintenance of hygiene and general public health in the village.

Another important development was the visit of 3 professional teachers, one from the US, a Ph.D student at university of Wisconsin, Madison, and 2 from Wellington College, a private high school in England. Their visit was extremely valuable in terms of providing a much needed teacher training, as all of them are experts in the field of education, and they sparked a very valuable debate among the teachers about effective pedagogy.

In the summer of 2009, our colleague Jok Madut Jok, traveled from Marol to Kuajok, the capital of Warrap State and met with the Minister of Education and its Director General, and he got the Marol School registered by the State Ministry. This registration will enable us in the future to seek assistance from the ministry with school supplies and perhaps teacher salaries. The minister’s response was quite positive, but the state has suffered major fiscal difficulties this past year and cannot at the moment provide assistance. We were promised such assistance in the future.

Colleagues and associates of Jok Madut Jok have been great supporters of the Marol School education project, giving personal financial assistance and activating professional resources to enable teacher trainers to both teach and work with local Sudanese teachers at the Marol School.

Eric Reeves of Smith College has been a generous contributor and supporter of the Marol School education project. To read more about and by this professor of English Language and Literature/Sudan scholar, please visit the following webpages:
Sudan Research, Analysis, and Advocacy
Regime change in Sudan isn't enough

Sharon Hutchinson of University of Wisconsin, Madison is professor of anthropology and is deeply engaged as a human rights advocate for South Sudan. To learn more about her efforts, particularly with Schools for Sudan, begin with the following links:
Professor makes an impact in Sudan human rights
World People's Blog: Sharon Hutchinson

Andrew Epstein, a PhD candidate and student of Professor Sharon Hutchinson, spent several months teaching and doing teacher training with the teaching staff at Marol School. Andrew had gone to Darfur with the Save the Children Fund early in the year. When Pres. Al-Bashir expelled all NGOs from Darfur in anger at his indictment for human rights abuses by the International Criminal Court, Andrew went to Marol to share his expertise with Marol teachers.

Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury, British House of Lords, has been a supporter of the Marol School since her visit in 2008. This year she contributed to the classroom construction project and enabled two fine volunteer teachers from Wellington College to spend their summer months teaching at the Marol School and training local teachers in team teaching strategies. To learn more about Baroness Caroline Cox, who recently became the first Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, please visit the websites below:
Baroness Caroline Cox The Foundation Chancellor
Baroness Caroline Cox: One Tough Lady
Baroness Caroline Cox on Wikipedia

Naomi Pendle and Eunice Gillan, both of Wellington College, who, at their own expense, traveled to rural Marol to teach and train teachers during their summer months. They resided in Luonyaker, some 4 miles distant from Marol. To get to Marol, they purchased bicycles, then left them for the local teachers who travel a distance to teach daily at Marol. To view information on Wellington College, go to the following link:
Wellington College

Mayik Thiik, School Supervisor and Accountant, who continues to give much time and support to Marol School, in addition to his role as Accountant for World Vision based in Luonyaker, 4 miles from Marol.

Vodafone ‘World of Difference’ competition winner One of the Wellington College teachers, Naomi Pendle, has won a grant that will allow her to be resident at Marol for a full year. She has taken time off from teaching at Wellington and will devote all of her grant year to assisting the Marol School.
Naomi Pendle wins grant

Marol School Construction and Facility Development has been possible due to the many contributors listed on the Contributors page, those listed above, as well as to donations from the following agencies and companies:

Latrines (3), one for girls, one for boys, one for staff—materials donated by World Vision International. Labor, paid by Marol Academy.

Food for school children to have a cooked lunch—donated by World Food Program.

A storage facility was required before WFP would deliver the food, so that is in place, but there is no ‘dining area’ for the children to eat.

Hand pump is now installed—donated by UNICEF; engineer provided by CESVI (an Italian NGO); labor costs, responsibility of Marol Academy.

Five additional teachers needed to be added (13 total) with the great increase in pupil enrollment (over 600) this school year. Existing 8 teachers have taken a pay cut—hopefully, temporarily—so new teachers could be paid.

Three day laborers and two guards (one day, one night). Three parents have taken responsibility to do the intense cooking to prepare the hot lunch for over 600 pupils for no pay. They are given some incentives in the form of soap, salt and grain. The two guards have been given some small amounts of money. These guards are necessary to protect the welfare of children during their time at Marol School. The school cannot take responsibility for children before they arrive and once they leave Marol, but a ‘buddy system’ has been instituted so children know to travel in groups. Jok has walked with some children to see how far they walk to and from school. He found some boys are walking 10 miles, one way, to attend the school. School is in session during the rain season.