Walk for Sudan Raises $16,000

Hope for Humanity’s seventh annual Walk for Sudan was held on Sunday, May 2. We raised more than $16,000 to support Hope & Resurrection Secondary School in Atiaba, Southern Sudan.

Almost 300 people attended the annual event, held at Christ Church Episcopal in Short Pump, to raise vital funds in support of the school lunch program, teacher salaries, and educational supplies.

Hope & Resurrection Secondary School was built in 2007 and is continually growing. The school will have all four grade levels filled next year, has added four additional teachers, and we are anticipating the completion of a new dining and meeting pavilion this spring.

The Walk for Sudan is our main source of revenue to support the general operating costs of the school. If you weren’t able to attend the walk, it’s not too late to help out. Every donation makes a difference to our students, and it’s easy to donate online.

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2010 Walk for Sudan

Thank You For Your Support!

We had a wonderful time at this year's annual Walk for Sudan, held May 2, 2010.

If you weren't able to attend, it's not too late to make a donation to help support the general operating costs at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School.

Your donation, no matter it's size, will help pay our teacher's salaries, provide rice and beans for our lunch program, and buy needed supplies to help our students learn.

Just click here to make your donation via PayPal. Many thanks for your support.

One Month to Raise Money: Walk for Sudan 2010

It's less than a month until our 7th annual Walk for Sudan, and we hope that you are raising funds to help support these worthy students at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School.

Check out this newspaper article covering the 2009 Walk for Sudan.

Attention Richmond Hope for Humanity Friends!

Volunteers Needed!

Do you want to help make a difference in the lives of others?

Are you energetic and outgoing?

Do you want to get involved with a great non-profit organization?

If you answered YES to any of the above, then Hope for Humanity needs you! We have an immediate need for volunteers to assist with the 7th annual Walk for Sudan. There are opportunities for team coordinators, promoters, event planning & set up as well as working the day of the event.

Hours are flexible and we need your help to make the event a success!

For more information, contact Angie Wilcox (804-590-9669)

or email at: angiewilcox849@hotmail.com

7th Annual WALK FOR SUDAN

Exciting things are happening at Hope & Resurrection Secondary School in Atiaba, Sudan. We are adding our third class of students this year, and practically doubling our teaching staff. We need your help to support these exciting changes.

7th Annual WALK FOR SUDAN

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Christ Church Episcopal * 5000 Pouncy Tract Rd * Glen Allen, VA

Registration 1:30 p.m. * Walk for Sudan 2:00 p.m.

Your time and donations support of the hardworking students at Hope & Resurrection and will provide textbooks, supplies, scholarships and meals for these eager students and faculty.

Join us for a fun-filled, family-friendly day of music, walking, door prizes and other fun activities. Meet locally-based Sudanese and learn more about their remarkable homeland, enjoy artwork created by Hope & Resurrection students, and check out photographs from recent trips to Sudan. We'll have door prizes, great t-shirts, face painting, bake sales, live music and more!

Raise funds and walk as an individual, or gather a group of friends, co-workers, family or classmates to form a more powerful walking and fundraising team. Simply gather your donations and join us on May 2!

Walk for Sudan and walk for our students!

*Note: This new location is a change from previous years.

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.