Translated by Helle Veiersted

The first thing that meets us when we drive into the schoolyard is a group of women in orange overalls who are singing and dancing. This is how every workday starts for the NRC apprentices in Cuei Chok near Rumbek, a former garrison town in South Sudan. The song and dance is their way of showing happiness for the opportunity to learn a trade and take part in building the country, often called South Sudan.

The NRC apprentices and the Vice Principal in front    of one of three brand new school buildings in    Cuei Chok.    Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Thomas Qviller

Africa’s longest running civil war
Sudan is the biggest country in Africa. The country’s demographic is complex with more than 600 ethnic groups. Roughly speaking, the country can be divided in two: the population in the north is mainly Muslims of Arabic descent, while the population in the south consists of Christians and various animistic African tribes. This division between the north and the south increased under British colonial rule. The British established a divided administration that, to a large extent, ignored the development of the south for the benefit of the north. When Sudan gained its independence in 1956, the Arabic-dominated authorities also seized power in the south, and since that time the country has, almost continuously, been at war

Like in many other areas in South Sudan, the entire population of Cuei Chok was forced to flee during the civil war. Apprentice and mother of three, Helena Amer Chol (24) explains that she was one of the first people to return to the village.

“When the war started I fled with my parents into the bush, safely behind the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) frontlines. We had nothing, and it was horrible. It was not a difficult choice when we finally were able to return home, even though it has been hard,” she says.

The population in Cuei Chok fled to many different areas during the war. While some, like Helena, only fled a couple of miles away from home, others fled across the border to neighboring countries.

“I only know three other families from before the war. But I was also quite young when we fled,” Helena says.

When asked why she returned to her village, she answers with conviction:

“I had to. This is where I buried my parents and my first husband. This is home to me,” she says.

Challenges
When the peace agreement was signed in early 2005, the humanitarian organizations came to Cuei Chok and the rebuilding started to gain momentum. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that the progress is going rapidly. There are too many challenges that have to be overcome. The roads are in very poor condition and the eight month long rainy season make them impassable. Therefore, building materials have to be transported in to the area within a small time-frame between December and April, when the roads are drivable. The alternative is to fly the materials in using planes or helicopters, but this is a very expensive and therefore unrealistic option.

Children in the school yard.    Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Thomas Qviller

Catch 22
Another challenge in Sudan is the lack of skilled labor. This is a direct consequence of the limited educational opportunities available. The situation is worsened by the fact that the population has been displaced several times due to the war. When building, it is usually necessary to hire contractors from abroad, mostly from Kenya or Uganda.

The situation in South Sudan can therefore be described as a Catch 22: schools are necessary in order to increase the skills and qualifications of the population, but skilled labor is necessary in order to build and run the schools. Currently there are very few schools and lack of skilled labor.

Apprentices
This problem had long been on the mind of NRC’s Sudanese deputy project manager, Ghor Dhal Manyiel. As the man in charge of NRC’s school construction project in the state, he had the chance to do something about the matter. And soon he got the idea of getting apprentices to build schools. This way one could kill two birds with one stone - raising the competence level in the area while at the same time building schools. In cooperation with the local village authorities, ten young unskilled women and men were recruited from the community as construction apprentices. The hired contractors were chosen for their willingness and ability to involve the apprentices.

A new school
The school in Cuei Chok is one of several schools that NRC has helped construct in the area over the past years. Esikiel Majok, Payam Education Officer from the Ministry of Education Science and Technology, explains that close to 900 children belong to the school in Cuei Chok. Before they got the new school, the students had to share two dilapidated classrooms.

“Before, most of the teaching was done outdoors under trees. Every time it started to rain we had to stop the lesson. The eight new classrooms will improve the learning environment a great deal, even though it is still a bit crowded sometimes,” he says.

The school’s Vice Principal, Daniel Thuc Manyiel, is also very happy with the new school. And he has every reason to be, considering it was he who was the first to put the shovel to the ground, and mobilized both teachers and villagers to dig trenches for the foundation wall of the school.

“This year all the children will have their classes in classrooms and not under trees,” he beams.

Orange pride
The first group of apprentices finished their training earlier this year, and most of them have worked as subcontractors during the construction of Cuei Chok Primary School.

“I am so proud of participating in the construction of this school. We had to flee from our homes and into the bush during the war; therefore I never got the chance to get an education myself. Now I have contributed to making it possible for my children to get the education I never got. At the same time, I have also learned something, says Monica Apande (20), who was one of the first students to graduate from the apprentice program.

The orange overalls, with NRC’s logo on the back, have almost become a brand for the apprentices. After a bit of a rocky start, they now say that the program has given them more freedom and a higher social standing in their community.

“When we started this, people were very skeptical. Many people thought that women should stay at home and look after the children. But when it became clear that we, after finishing our training, actually made a living out of this and were able to support both family and friends, the sentiment changed,” Monica says and smiles.