By Anthony Hannon, Missionary Development Coordinator, Mary Ward International, Ireland

South Sudan is the worst place in the world for girls’ education. As many as 73% of 9- to 12-year-old girls had never been to school in 2017. It is estimated that 53% of girls are married before their 18th birthday. One of the youngest countries in the world, South Sudan has been plagued by war, violence and revenge killing. The abundant availability of weapons escalates even the simplest conflict, especially during periods of major stress such as prolonged food insecurity and economic hardship. This violence has also led families to use early forced marriage to ‘protect’ their daughters against sexual violence, rape and pregnancy before marriage as a way of upholding family honour. The dire levels of poverty and lack of opportunities are further incentives for poor families to marry off their daughters to receive a bride price. With such staggering statistics it is no wonder, but no less shocking, that in South Sudan girls are more likely to die in childbirth than to complete secondary education.

It is against this backdrop that, in 2008, the Loreto Sisters started a secondary school for girls in the outskirts of Rumbek, in Lakes State, South Sudan.  The work of Loreto Sisters around the world is inspired by the vision of Mary Ward (1585 – 1645) who believed that ‘women in time to come will do much’. Over the years the school has established itself as one of the leading schools for girls in the country. To date a total of 290 students have graduated from the school, with many of the girls supported to proceed to post-secondary education in the careers of their choosing.

One of the strongest aspects of the school has been its success in being a source of hope, and an advocate for very brave and determined girls who want education, girls like Ayor and Amakou. Ayor ran away from her home when she learnt that her father was making preparations for her marriage. Amakou’s father died when she was a young child, and her mother was killed some years later when her home was attacked. Amakou only managed to survive by hiding in the bush with her brother. Both girls believed that education was the only way to overcome their difficulties and to give them hope for a fruitful life.

For Ayor and Amakou and for many other girls, Loreto Secondary school acts not just as a space for education, but as a refuge. There are a diverse range of initiatives to educate, build confidence and support the psychological, emotional and physical needs of the girls. The school provides a safe environment where children can be children, and can learn, be creative and play. It deliberately reaches out to girls from different social, economic and ethnic background. In this way, the school promotes unity among the students, while also respecting difference, contributing to the vision for a peaceful future in South Sudan.

To support students who struggle in the transition from primary education, often completed in very poorly resourced schools, the school introduced a transition year to help students improve on their English and mathematics. It is a year that has played a major role in ensuring that more girls from poor backgrounds have access to secondary education.

To support the girls’ psychological needs, the school introduced an innovative peer support system where older students are designated as ‘mothers’ and ‘grandmothers’ to the new students, their ‘daughters’. This has helped new students talk about their concerns and stresses to other girls who have experienced the same emotions. This is particularly important in a context where girls may be ostracized from their families and communities for having the courage to continue with their education, which is often counter to what is socially and culturally expected of teenage girls.

Another innovation is the use of ‘commitment forms’. When the school first opened, they experienced a high dropout rate with girls being taken out of school by their relatives, often for a forced marriage. To address this, the school introduced a commitment form, which must be signed by a family member with authority (generally the father or uncle), and by the school, stating that the girl will not be taken out of the school by her family, before completion of her studies. This signing is overseen by community leaders. The introduction of this form has helped achieve a 98% completion rate. It has been used by the school, on a number of occasions, to support and advocate for girls to stay in school when their relatives have come to try and take them out.

Loreto Girls Secondary school is a prime example of how a school can act as a space for quality education and as an advocate for girls’ education and empowerment. Their approach can be summarised using the following four D’s: a diverse range of initiatives to support girls overcome the many obstacles which they face; a determined and deliberate approach to supporting each girl reach her potential; and finally the delivery of a quality education that enables girls to proceed to post-secondary education and to pursue the career of their choosing. Students like Elizabeth Adak who completed her studies in Rumbek in 2014 and graduated in 2021 with a law degree. In May 2022, she passed her Bar exams and is a step closer to fulfilling her dream of fighting for the rights of girls and women in South Sudan.

Join a side-event at the HLPF on July 13 at 7.30am (New York), 1.30pm (South Sudan), 7.30pm (Philippines) to hear more about these schools and the interlinkages between SDG 4 and SDG 5. Register here: https://bit.ly/3OxFrs0