Overwhelmed and Overjoyed: Yei Teachers’ Conference 2013

When I arrived Yei and
saw the state of preparedness of the teachers for their Conference, I was
overjoyed. I knew we’re headed in the right direction by asking them to plan
it. Though their budget was in the sky, I loved the fact that a group among them worked hard without my direct supervision.

The
Conference has come and gone, but reporting its outcome has been challenging, as
I keep getting stuck trying to process the overwhelming reality and information
gleaned.

How
could it be that most of these teachers were unable to express themselves in
written form? What caliber of students will this kind of teachers graduate?

The
theme they chose for the Conference bordered on eradicating illiteracy. They knew their problem but did we?

Halfway
into the meeting, it was clear that most of the 125 teachers present from over
30 schools, which represent less than a third of the teachers in Yei, were
functionally illiterate. Worse still, the vast majority have no formal training
and when asked said they’d rather be working another job that paid better. Why
not!!

So
how can a transformation from hireling to call-minded
mercenary happen for some of these teachers? What could initiate
it?  Isn’t the greater challenge more of a heart issue than just the
inability to read and write properly? Or is it a lack of infrastructure?

How
can they be trained? Will the education policies being developed be able to address these issues effectively? What of implementation? Who will
implement? The reality is overwhelming. 

How
can the Church help? 

The
Conference was a success. In terms of content and delivery, the facilitators,
created an awakening that forced all to re-evaluate their skills, rate their
literacy and seek for solutions.

It
was a very practical meeting, as the presentations were narrowed to the need
for self-discovery, self-development and the teaching profession as a call.

The
evangelical edge of the Conference was not blunt. Some teachers have pledged
to start a Christian Teachers Fellowship in their schools. We’ll report their progress in future.

A
Planning Committee and the County Education Department are making meaningful
suggestions and plans for the next conference in 2014. Planning has already commenced.

Dr.
Catherine, a sound Christian, was the chief facilitator. She’s a professor in
Educational development in California, USA.

She
visited Yei in February this year with her entire family, to discover the state of
education in South Sudan and subsequently see how she can help. I persuaded her, to return this May for the Yei Teachers’ Conference and she did the
unthinkable.

Dr.
Brinkley came by road unaided, from Kola in Kenya, with her three young sons
(the youngest is 3!!) just for this Conference. Her sacrifice and courage underscored the
meaning of passion. They traveled for 36hours to make
it to Yei from Kola, which included an all night ride from Kampala to Koboko in Northern Uganda. Her husband, Timothy, seen here with the family was not with them on the journey.

She
scoffed at the risks on account of her goal; came prepped and pumped for
this Conference in a way that greatly inspired me. Leaving nothing to chance,
she arrived with four different presentation materials for 500 participants!

We
still seek and solicit the assistance of Kingdom-minded believers like Dr.
Catherine, who long to make a difference where it will matter more. If you
connect with this, may God lead you our way. 

Mrs
Kemi Oloketuyi, a school teacher and the proprietress of Creative Academy, an
established nursery to secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria; despite the negative news in the media about South Sudan, also came.

Passion
for the glory of Christ in the nations mocks death and redefines suffering
as funful opportunity. 

I salute these women of great grace and
courage. Their response to God’s call here has created more opportunities for
others to step in. May they not miss Abba’s embrace in the end.

Retired
school teachers, teacher trainers and people passionate about how education
could be used to advance God’s Kingdom in a place like South Sudan, have much
to give and also to learn from here. Please ask me.