Back in March, we fundraised for the building of classroom blocks in a village in South Sudan where women farmers like Deborah and Mary, worried for their children’s futures.

Since 2011 and in partnership with the Jesuits of East Africa, IJI has been funding the Multi-educational and Agricultural Jesuit Institute of South Sudan (MAJIS) which sought to address food insecurity to an entire county, roughly 288 villages. The project focuses on women and knowledge transfer for sustainable farming, good agricultural practice & appropriate land use.

The MAJIS project has had a huge impact on the lives of local women. In Easter this year we focused on the needs of the local children at the informal primary school, which was set up by the Jesuits to educate the children of the adult farmers at MAJIS.

Our Easter Appeal hoped to raise the much-needed funds to build classroom blocks to cater for 250 children over the next 3 years. Without this school, children must walk 12km to the nearest school. This journey is too long and far too dangerous with risk of abuse and violence. Without the MAJIS informal primary school, most children would be without schooling, remaining in the fields while their mothers farm in order to provide for their families.

THANK YOU

Thanks to your support and generous donations, construction work has begun on the classroom project which will have a huge impact and continue to empower and enrich the lives of the local communities, especially mothers and their children.

MAJIS is preparing the way for building a proper primary school. They have managed to secure a government permit for construction, completed a new pit latrine, completed the bush clearing and site preparation with stones, sand and steel rods now all in place.

This work to give marginalised children the support for a brighter future could not be possible without your support and for that and from all of us at IJI – thank you!