Faces of Success: Joseph Makuei Kuarang

This is the fifth in a series of profiles from students currently enrolled at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School. In May 2009, Form One and Form Two students wrote short autobiographies, sharing information about their families, livelihood and desire for education. We hope these glimpses of life in Southern Sudan will inspire you.

I am 19 years old. As I am still young, I haven’t married.

My father has four wives: the first has three sons, the second has seven sons, the third has six sons, and the last wife has five sons. At the cattle camp we have a lot of cows, and at home we have goats sheep and hens.

Early in the morning, I wake up and take the oxen to the field for grazing, and then I get my schoolbag and head to school.

On Sunday, I go to church, and after the prayers I come back home to read and calculate mathematics.

When I complete school, I would like to attend university and study to be an engineer. I would like to help improve my community, and I think God will be with me in my education.

Faces of Success: Deborah Awut Mayom

This is the fourth in a series of profiles from students currently enrolled at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School. In May 2009, Form One and Form Two students wrote short autobiographies, sharing information about their families, livelihood and desire for education. We hope these glimpses of life in Southern Sudan will inspire you.

I am Deborah Awut Mayom, and am 16 years old. I live in Adol with my family – I have four brothers and three sisters. Some of them are married and some are students. Me and my elder brother Nelson are students of Hope & Resurrection Secondary School.

My home is so far from where we are in school, so I spend much time coming to school. I used to come very late, and even missed some lessons in the morning.

My favorite subjects in school are English, biology and geography. Actually, I want to be a doctor after completing my studies. Life is so good when you are an educated person, since education is the key to life.

Faces of Success: Abraham Marial Akech

This is the third in a series of profiles from students currently enrolled at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School. In May 2009, Form One and Form Two students wrote short autobiographies, sharing information about their families, livelihood and desire for education. We hope these glimpses of life in Southern Sudan will inspire you.

I am Abraham Marial Akech and I am 19 years old. I live in Rumbek East County, South Sudan. I have three younger brothers, John, Daniel and Matthew. John is in Primary 8, Daniel in Primary 4 and Matthew is in Primary 2. We all live happily with each other.

I always give them advice that they should put their efforts on education, because the time will come when illiterate people may not be considered as citizens of the country.

“Try to learn more and you will be good citizens who will heal Sudan, without discrimination. Then there will be no nepotism, decentralized ruling and other (issues) that affect unity and peace.”

My family keeps poultry and goats in Akot. They are helpful when hungry and can pay for our school fees.

I wake up early in the morning … and walk a long distance (about 40 km) to come to school at Hope & Resurrection. So long as our country is not developed, nobody can drive anyone to where he or she is going. Also, students aren’t helped by drivers. Our students are affected by the lack of transportation.

On Sundays, I go to church and then spend the afternoon with my family. They are proud of me, since I spend five days on schooling. I am excited to meet with my family on Saturday and Sunday.

When I complete my senior education I would like to go to university, but there are factors that could prevent that, like paying down my school fees. If I attended University, I would study to be an engineer, and to help my community in so many ways.

I praise Hope for Humanity for the support they have given Southern Sudan. I would like to keep their support on my mind until my death. I am so happy to receive schooling and studying. I have given my schooling to the hands of God, and I study hard to achieve my goals.

Support us, and we will rejoice in God’s hands.

Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement

A very important message from Jennifer Ernst, founder of Hope for Humanity:

The CPA and it's Effect on Hope and Resurrection Secondary School

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January, 2005 between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army ending the longest-running civil war in Africa. Since that time, there have been violations of the agreement on the part of the Government of Sudan and it is widely believed that militias are being armed in the South by GoS in order to fuel conflict which appears simply as tribal feuds.

There are only 18 months left before the CPA expires: time is running out. If the peace agreement does not hold and there is a return to war, it is feared that this conflict would be more deadly than the previous one and the loss of lives would be tremendous.

All efforts to develop the South would be destroyed, possibly including Hope and Resurrection Secondary School. The mission of the school is to educate the future leaders of the South and train them to be effective leaders in their communities and church. We have made great progress in just a short time. Future plans for the school include the addition of co-ed boarding facilities which would enable students to attend from all regions of Southern Sudan; uniting tribes and clans and offering a safe place for past differences to be reconciled and teaching the students how to live in peace and harmony as united Southerners.

The request is two fold:

(1) Make your voice heard. Tell our leaders that you want to see the US government do their part to insure Sudan remains peaceful. Please visit Sudan Emergency now for additional information, and spread the word to those you know.

(2) Please continue your support of Hope and Resurrection Secondary School. This school is making a difference in Southern Sudan.

Media Coverage of Archbishop of Sudan's Visit

Sudanese cleric visits Goochland

Published: July 22, 2009

By Ken Odor in the Goochland Gazette

Jennifer and Daryl Ernst have been involved in helping the Sudanese people for years. Last week they hosted the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, Dr. Daniel Deng Bull Yak, and his wife Deborah Abuk Atem.

The couple stayed with the Ernsts for four days as the archbishop continued his visit to the United States. There are about four million Episcopal Church members in southern Sudan, said the archbishop...

... ...

Read the full article here.

Teachers Arrive Safely in Uganda

In addition to the Hope & Resurrection Secondary School Headmaster Anthony, our school is staffed by four additional teachers. Anthony is Sudanese and a member of the Dinka tribe, as are most of our students, but our four other teachers are all Ugandan.

Clockwise from top left: Cleous, Irene, Zakayo, and Dovico

Each teacher sacrifices greatly in order to teach our students, leaving their families back in Uganda, and must travel on a long journey by road back and forth during school breaks.

We were thrilled to receive news from our Deputy Headmaster, Cleous, that everyone has arrived safely back in Kampala, Uganda, and has left for their respective homes. We hope they have a restful and restorative break, and return to us safely.

To learn more about how our academic program at Hope & Resurrection is structured, click here.

Archbishop of Sudan Visits Hope for Humanity Supporters

It's been a busy week of meetings, luncheons, and traveling with Archbishop Daniel and his wife, Deborah. After meetings in Washington, D.C., they will be visiting with their son, who is graduating from college, and then returning home to Juba, Sudan.

We had a fantastic dinner last night with about twenty folks who are involved or interested in Hope for Humanity and the Episcopal Church in Sudan.

The Very Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of Sudan, addressed the group at a dinner in his honor.

We discussed many potential opportunities to expand our reach in educating the youth of Southern Sudan, and addressed many of the needs in the region. Archbishop Daniel is a strong supporter of Hope & Resurrection Secondary School, and we continue to expect great things for our future!

Jennifer and Daryl Ernst with The Very Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak and wife Deborah.

We have some exciting plans for the immediate future that will require your help! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks about how you can be involved. If you have a heart for Southern Sudan, and believe in the future of her people, you will not want to miss out on this opportunity!

Buck Blanchard, Coordinator of World Mission for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, and Rev. Weezie Blanchard with The Very Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak and wife Deborah.

Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan

We're thrilled that The Very Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, is visiting Richmond, Virginia this week. We'll be hosting a dinner in honor of he and his wife Deborah, and are so excited to have the chance to speak to them about the future of education in Southern Sudan.

If you'd like to learn more about the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Archbishop, visit their official website.

We'll be posting more about our visit with Archbishop Daniel soon.

Stories from Sudan: Janie Molster

This is the third of a series of four reflections on life in Southern Sudan, from a western perspective. These reflections are written by members of St. James’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, who returned from a mission trip to Hope & Resurrection Secondary School in May 2009.

An Interfaith Mission: Janie Molster

Before we left Richmond, a group of generous Jewish ladies raised money for us to purchase sewing machines to take to Sudan. A resourceful friend in Nairobi tracked down two antiquated, yet new, pedal-operated models, which we picked up on our way in.

We got the machines to the school, and started to assemble them. Assembly instructions were included, but for a different, model. Undaunted, dirty and soaked in perspiration, through trial and error and pure imagination, by the end of the day they got them functioning!

What started as a nice idea was now a reality. We were faced with the challenge of finding good homes for the machines. We began to quietly ask around the school and village if there were any seamstresses. We had cloth, needles, pins, but was there someone with motivation?

Janie  meets with the female students at Hope & Resurrection.

We were cautious in our search for homes for the machines, and there were no obvious placements. Any possession is rare and unusual, and I had visions of the machines ending up being scrapped for metal parts or the stands used as dining tables in one of the mud huts.

Days later on Sunday after an uplifting church service, we met with church leaders to discuss their pressing needs. With needs so vast and so valid, I began to feel powerless and deflated. My mind raced to find solutions for their problems but they were all logistically complex and very expensive... so many homeless children in need of an orphanage, students who walked hours to school wanting boarding, the list went on and on.

Then Pastor Gabriel – also a student at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School – took a turn to talk. His wife and others were studying with a tailor in the village and could we possibly help them with a sewing machine? Our entire team beamed and felt like Santa on Christmas morning. Less than a quarter of a mile away was just what was needed, and we could deliver that day. Problem solved!

Note: The second sewing machine was given to the students and staff at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School.

Faces of Success: Mary Paul

This is the second in a series of profiles from students currently enrolled at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School. In May 2009, Form One and Form Two students wrote short autobiographies, sharing information about their families, livlihood and desire for education. We hope these glimpses of life in Southern Sudan will inspire you.

I am Mary Paul, and I am 20 years old and I live in Akot. I started my studies in 1999 in Makuragar Primary School and I finished Grade 8 in that school in 2004.

I got married in 2005 and now I have a child called Joseph. He is two years old. I also have my brothers and sisters – we are seven in number – four girls and three boys.

I am a student of Hope & Resurrection. In morning hours I wake up early, then study my notes, take water for bathing, and come to school at 8:35.

On Sunday, I go to the church, then I spend the afternoon with my family. I like education very much, because education is a key of life. Even though I am married, I want to achieve an education.

 I thank those people who brought this school to our country.

July 2009 Newsletter

Click here to download our latest newsletter, including updates on:

- updates on Hope & Resurrection staff

- the new school lunch program

- volunteer news

- planning for the 2010 Walk for Sudan

To subscribe and receive the newsletter directly, just email us.

Stories from Sudan: Angie Wilcox

This is the second of a series of four reflections on life in Southern Sudan. These reflections are written by members of St. James’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, who returned from a mission trip to Hope & Resurrection Secondary School in May 2009.

Moments of Connection: Angie Wilcox

During a mission trip, it is often those unplanned moments that are truly meaningful, and this year those were the moments that meant the most to me.

It was the spontaneous songs and games with the village children; the casual conversations with the students about their lives, hopes and dreams; sharing a birthday dinner with the Deputy Headmaster; the beauty of a blind man dancing as worship music washed over him. In all of these moments, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was present.

In a place where life is incredibly difficult and the people often feel forgotten by the world, it was an honor to be able to serve the people of Akot through our work. In a meeting with the church and village, residents shared their needs with us.

In a place where there are so many needs, it is often difficult to know where to start. But in reality, it is the small works of many people (teaching classes, bring supplies and sewing machines, raising awareness and funds, etc.) that can truly make a difference.

Faces of Success: Michael Marial Mangar

This is the first in a series of profiles from students currently enrolled at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School. In May 2009, Form One and Form Two students wrote short autobiographies, sharing information about their families, livlihood and desire for education. We hope these glimpses of life in Southern Sudan will inspire you.

I am Michael Marial Mangar. I am 21 years old. I live in Rumbek East County. I am short and have black skin. I am Southern Sudanese, from the Dinka tribe. I have five brothers and four sisters. I am in Form Two at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School.

I am living in Atiaba Village. We like keeping of livestock; like goats, cows, chickens and we even have three dogs. At home, we have four houses and one sitting room. I live at the farm, and it is full of beautiful trees with beautiful flowers.

After school hours, I read in the evening, and I also like to play volleyball. On Saturday I like to work on the farm. On Sunday I go to church and then I spend the afternoon with my best friends.

When I finish my senior year I would like to attend university and study finance and management to become a Minister of Finance. If I could be in that post, I could help my community in social stability, like hospitals, schools, and communications.

Stories from Sudan: Bill Branch

This is the first of a series of four reflections on life in Southern Sudan. These reflections are written by members of St. James’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, who returned from a mission trip to Hope & Resurrection Secondary School in May 2009.

Hope & Faith Feed the Soul: Bill Branch

On our daily 9 km drive from our camp to Hope & Resurrection Secondary School, it never ceased to amaze me how all the pre-school aged children would run from their mud or brick huts with thatched roofs, and wave to us as if we had just won the World Series. It was initially a boost to my ego, because I noticed that they weren’t waving quite as enthusiastically to the other U.N. / aid vehicles that drove by. I soon realized that they really weren’t waving at Bill, Laura, Angie, Janie and Randy, but rather the 1991 Toyota Hilux (think African Tacoma pickup truck), which belongs to the school, and is normally used by the four teachers from Uganda.

As they associated the pickup truck with the school, I soon realized that what they were really excited about was the hope of what an education could provide to them.

With the end of the second Sudanese civil war four years ago, schools such as Hope & Resurrection are beginning to provide basic education. A secondary/high school education in southern Sudan means walking to school two or three hours each way, wearing the same (yet surprisingly clean) clothes everyday, and sitting on benches in cramped classrooms with only minimal educational resources.

The fact that the ages of the 77 students range from 16 to 41, that 85% are male, and that a few of the students were former soldiers, are indicative of the disruption of the educational system in Sudan. They are fortunate as the school started providing them with lunch, which alternates between porridge and rice and beans. They are also fortunate because at the primary school down the dirt road, the students there are not given lunch, and a classroom is literally a tree with a blackboard.

The vast majority of the student at Hope & Resurrection were dedicated and sincere. When asked what they wanted to do following their secondary education, a common theme was to study at a university in Kenya or Uganda, and then become an engineer, physician, or teacher, so that they can return to their village and improve the conditions in their community.

Most had experienced death of family members from conflict or disease, and deprivation unheard of here in the United States. Yet they still had a sense of pride and hope for their communities that can only be described as humbling. Many of the students walked to the Episcopal Church of Sudan service on Sunday, and prayed with us for strength and faith.

While our mission to Atiaba, Sudan was brief, my experience of what hope and faith can provide to the soul will last forever.

Check out our new website

We are happy to announce the launch of the new Hope for Humanity website. Check it out at http://www.hopeforhumanityinc.org.

You'll also find details about our seventh annual Walk for Sudan. Mark your calendar and plan to join us!

Walk for Sudan 2009

The Midlothian Exchange covered our Walk for Sudan in their May 6, 2009 edition. 

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Building the Future for a Village

by Elizabeth Farina, Midlothian Exchange

One could clearly hear the joyous call of song and the beating of drums from area Sudanese as the large group of walkers circled the track at the high school in spite of the threatening afternoon rain on Sunday, May 3.

Walkers made laps around the high school track in support of Hope for Humanity’s 6th annual charity walk. photo by Elizabeth Farina

For Jody Wilcox of Chesterfield, the local Hope for Humanity event at Deep Run High School was a tangible way to continue contributing to Atiaba village’s secondary school, where he helped build teacher housing last spring and learned how to make bricks. Jody’s wife Angie unfortunately would miss out on the sixth annual event because she was thousands of miles away at the same African school. She is currently a volunteer teacher at the Hope and Resurrection Secondary School in the village.

The Wilcox couple had heard Darryl and Jennifer Ernst, founders of the Richmond-based charity organization, speak at St. James Episcopal Church about the many needs the African country is facing after a 20-year civil war. Both decided Southern Sudan was a place they could help make a difference in the future of the tentatively peaceful nation, which the U.S. helped establish. 

“When you go there, you are amazed at the resilience of the people there – because they need so much,” Jody Wilcox said. “The villages are welcoming.”

Jody Wilcox at the 2009 Walk for Sudan - Photo by Elizabeth Farina

Wilcox explained that one of the top issues the country is facing today is in education. The highest level of education for most who have survived the civil war is at the eighth-grade level. There are only 22 secondary schools in Southern Sudan, which is geographically the size of the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. “That’s the first thing,” he said.

Medical issues were also an emergency need because clinics have been developed at the pace of schools in the country. “It needs a stable government, to be honest. And food, as well,” Wilcox said.

Darryl Ernst, who was also at the event, said that building and operating a secondary school in the Southern Sudan began with a little idea. The Ernst couple became involved through their former church in 1999, he explained. They became good friends with one of the “lost” boys of Sudan, Maker Marial, who arrived in Richmond in 2000. “He became like our adopted son,” Ernst said.

In 2005, the Ernst family took Marial back to his native country to be reunited with his family in Atiaba. They saw the need for education to extend beyond the elementary level and started fundraising the same year. Last May, the school opened for 64 of the estimated 1.5 million school-aged children in Southern Sudan, according to Hope for Humanity. “We have 100 this year in the ninth and tenth grade level,” Ernst said.

The walk that is annually held the first Sunday of May is in its sixth year. Instead of focusing on construction, the walk on May 3 focused on feeding students lunch and teachers’ salaries. “Those are the biggest parts of the budget,” Ernst added.

Marial, who had finished walking the track laps, said that education gives the Sudanese a chance to contribute to their country. “It is the most beautiful school in the area,” he said.

Marial added that Deep Run High School was more of the size of a university in Southern Sudan than a secondary school. The Hope for Humanity school is a one-story brick building that is open to boys and girls ranging in age from 15 to 37 – because of the interrupted education from the country’s civil war. The peace treaty has been in place for three years, but there are numerous challenges with corruption and tribalism. However, the school does provide opportunity to break the cycle of those challenges. “Education has been lost,” he said. “What we are doing in Southern Sudan is preparing the leadership of the country.”

For more information about Hope for Humanity, Inc. visit http://www.hopeforhumanityinc.org.

Sudanese Student Adjusts to Life in Virginia

The introduction to this January 2006 Richmond Times-Dispatch article tells the story of Gideon Mabeny, a Sudanese attending Fork Union Military Academy.

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Sudanese Student Adjusts to Life in VA:

Through a donor's generosity, he now studies at Fork Union Military Academy and hopes to go to college.

by Alberta Lindsey

Gideon Mabeny learned his ABC's and numbers on a splintery log under a tree. Only the teacher had a textbook. If it rained, children went home. Now, Mabeny not only has his own textbooks, but also has a desk in an indoor classroom with computers. Classes continue in rain, sleet and snow.

Eighteen year old Mabeny, a native of Sudan, began classes Jan. 4 at Fork Union Military Academy, a college preparatory, military boarding school in Fluvanna County for boys in grades six through 12 and postgraduates. “I'm excited to be here. It's a nice school,” Mabeny said during the break from classes Tuesday. “The first day came, I didn't know what to do. I was new to this place. I think now I'm getting to know my way around.”

When Mabeny enters a room, he ducks his 7-foot-tall slender body to keep from hitting his head on the door frame. Although his height is a bit of a problem here, he sees it as a gift from God. The school's uniforms and mattresses are too short. A seamstress altered his uniform for him. But when he sleeps, he just bends his legs, he said, laughing at the thought. Eating three times a day amazes Mabeny, who is used to one meal a day. “ You eat too much food.” he said. The Fork Union staff describe the young Sudanese man as shy, polite and hardworking.

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To read the rest of this article and discover the part that Hope for Humanity played in this story, please visit our website.

A 'Lost Boy' Goes Home to Sudan

The introduction to this July 24, 2005 Richmond Times-Dispatch article tells the story of Maker Marial, the inspiration behind Hope for Humanity.

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A 'Lost Boy' Goes Home - Mother and Son Reunite in Sudan 18 Years After War Tore Them Apart

by Alberta Lindsey

A woman in a yellow flowered dress stood alone peering down the dirt road. A few feet away, either woman and children also watched the road. As the Toyota Land Cruiser came into view, the women started jumping up and down, screaming and waving.

Inside the Land Cruiser, excitement also grew. Three or four times, Maker Marial scanned the faces of the waiting women. “Oh, there's my mother,” he said of the woman in the yellow dress. Their eyes met and Maker knew he was right. The Land Cruiser had barely stopped before the women grabbed the rear doors and pulled Maker from the vehicle. His mother and two other women were hugging him at the same time. Suddenly, it was a group hug. No words were needed. Long, clutching embraces said it all.

Mother and son were together for the first time in 18 years. Neither knew the other was alive until three years ago. I am happy. Very, very happy,” said Maker, 27, who lives in Henrico County, VA.

He is a full-time student at J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College and worlds nights part time as a cashier at Wal-Mart. His goal is to become a human rights lawyer.The last time he saw his mom, he was a boy of 9. He returned to his native Sudan last month as a part of a mission team from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.“I lost my son. Now I have him back. I am very happy. I thank God,” his mother, Rebecca Ajout Maker said, smiling. She spoke in Dinka, the native language of this area in southern Sudan. Maker or his brother, Akot Marial, translated.

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To read the rest of this article and discover the part that Hope for Humanity played in this story, please visit our website.

Jennifer Ernst Recognized

Congratulations to Jennifer Ernst, Hope for Humanity's co-founder, who was nominated as an Honored Woman by the ECW (Episcopal Church Women)

An excerpt from the May 2009 Virginia Episcopalian article by Emily Cherry:

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The day’s events will also include a special recognition of Virginia’s nominee for ECW Honored Woman, Jennifer Ernst. Ms. Ernst, a member of Christ Church, Glen Allen, began volunteering with the Sudanese refugee community in Richmond in 1999. Since that time, she has worked to develop worship services in the tribal Dinka language; organized a yearly Walk for Sudan to raise money for schools in southern Sudan; with her husband, Darryl, founded Hope for Humanity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education for the youth of Southern Sudan, and secured funding for Hope and Resurrection Secondary School in Atiaba, Sudan. To date, 25 students have graduated from the school, which opened its doors in spring 2008.

Ms. Ernst will be honored with other dioceses’ Honored Women at the ECW Triennial Conference, which takes place concurrently with the General Convention meeting of the Episcopal Church in July in Anaheim. One diocesan nominee will be selected as the National ECW Honored Woman at Triennial. 

Jennifer Ernst, pictured here with her husband Darryl at the opening of the Hope and Resurrection Secondary School, received the Virginia ECW’s nomination for Honored Woman of the Year for her work in Sudan.

Welcome!

Hope for Humanity Inc. is an organization dedicated to growing educational opportunities for the future leaders of Sudan.

We hope that you'll enjoy keeping up with news and information, from both here at our headquarters in Richmond, Virginia and with our students in Southern Sudan.