A Sudanese teenager is now able to fully take part in her school lessons after receiving books and stationery through a project supported by Jesuit Missions.
Rita Moses Jada, 15, previously only had limited access to notebooks, often pleading with her classmates for extra pages or refusing to hand in her work to teachers due to it be written on scraps of paper.
She has since been supported by the Jesuit Refugee Service International’s scholastic programme – an initiative backed by Jesuit Missions – which provides school materials to pupils, meaning they are more likely to receive a fuller education.
Rita and her family were deeply impacted by the ongoing civil war in Sudan. Her father – the sole breadwinner – died during the conflict, and she, her brother and her mother sought refuge in Renk, a town in neighbouring South Sudan.
Her mother managed to scrape together enough money through tea-making to buy two exercise books, which were to be shared between her children.
However, Rita quickly filled them up, using them to make notes for all five of the subjects she studies at the Chum Aliny Primary School. It meant she was soon unable to fully take part in classes and, as a result, her overall academic performance suffered.
Thanks to the support of the scholastic programme, she now doesn’t need to worry about running out of materials and can completely focus on her studies.
“I now have books for all my subjects,” an overjoyed Rita said. “I can copy all my classwork into these new books and take them to my teachers for marking.”
