EDUCATION

South Sudan faces one of the most severe educational crises globally, with an estimated 2.8 million children, or over 70% of the school-aged population out of school. The system is severely crippled by the impacts of ongoing conflict, devastating climate shocks, extreme poverty, and acute shortages of qualified teachers and infrastructure.

Girls’ Education: Girls’ education in South Sudan is severely constrained by extreme poverty, pervasive cultural norms like child marriage and the dowry system, safety risks including gender-based violence, and institutional barriers such as a lack of female teachers and poor sanitation facilities.

Our strategies for improving girls’ education in South Sudan include offering scholarships to cover essential educational expenses such as tuition, uniforms, and learning materials, providing daily hot meals in schools improves nutrition, boosts attendance, and encourages parents to keep girls enrolled rather than marrying them off for immediate financial support, building gender-segregated latrines and providing free menstrual hygiene supplies keeps girls in class during their periods and ensures privacy, running localized awareness campaigns with community leaders, parents, and religious groups to highlight the long-term benefits of girls’ education and discourage early child marriage, support implementing protective policies and safe transportation networks to reduce gender-based violence and harassment during the commute to and from school and training more female teachers to serve as role models and provide a supportive environment for adolescent girls.

Adult Literacy Education: South Sudan has one of the world’s lowest literacy rates, with more than 70% of adults unable to read or write. We promote adult literacy and alternative education programs to empower marginalized women through functional skills, specifically targeting basic reading, writing, and numeracy. This foundation allows them to manage business finances, understand healthcare instructions, participate in community decision-making, and advocate for peace