South Sudan has been embattled in civil wars for decades. Two civil wars spanning from the 1950s until the 2010s, when the country was one country of Sudan, eventually led to the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011. South Sudan quickly erupted into its own civil war that lasted from 2013 to 2018.
These violent civil wars only added to the inter-tribal conflicts that have been established for generations. Cattle raiding—the practice of stealing cattle from other tribes or families—is a dangerous and deadly practice that continues in South Sudan. Virtually no family is untouched by violence from civil war or from cattle raiding.
As one of the least developed countries in the world, South Sudan is hit hard with a difficult way to survive: the average salary is only $10 per month. Where disease, violence, and poverty run rampant, life expectancy is a mere 59 years.
There is little to be found in the means of development; less than 300 miles of roads in the entire country are paved, and running water and electricity are all but non-existent outside of the capital.
Even finding skills can be difficult in South Sudan, and it is even more difficult to find supplies. Even basic supplies, such as roofing materials, or animals, such as laying hens, must be purchased in Uganda and brought to South Sudan.
South Sudan is a country fraught with countless challenges for development, stability, and a way out of poverty. With fragile peace agreements in place between rivalries that started the civil war, South Sudan could become either the newest place of hope—or a very long way from tasting peace.
In the midst of South Sudan’s problems, children have one plea to their parents: “I want to go to school.” In South Sudan, school is not a given. It is something that some children must negotiate with their parents to let them attend.
Other children have no parents to even ask permission to attend school. Their parents died in war or from cattle raids.
Amazing Grace Community (AGC) is South Sudanese founded and led organization that addresses exactly these needs. They have a school for the community, and housing for children who are orphans—and children who had to negotiate education with their parents.
AGC does not enough room for the children to attend classes in a traditional school building. Classes take place under trees or under a tin roof with no walls. This means that, in the rainy season, many school days are canceled as the children have no shelter from the rain.
The plan for AGC is simple: build an 8-classroom school for the community so the children can attend in all seasons.
But they also want to be sustainable, too. AGC grows their own crops, chickens, and goats, to help feed the children who attend and to provide some income for operations.
The Christian influence in AGC is very clear: the ministry doesn’t just exist to shelter and educate children. Their purpose is to grow the children’s discipleship in following Jesus. They believe this is the way to end the violence that has been so entrenched in South Sudanese culture: Children from different tribes grow together, are discipled together, and turn from violence and disputes to peace and collaboration. They recognize the truth in Proverbs 22:6—train a child in the way they should, and they will not depart from it.
We are partnering with AGC to build the school building that the community wants, and to provide them with the foundation they need for a successful life—education and peacemaking.
Fulcrum Missions 