Overview

BHW has for a number of years been trying to develop partnerships in South Sudan with little success. It is such a difficult country in which to do development. The conditions are so difficult for local people who find themselves struggling to feed themselves, let alone help others. 

Internal conflict, corruption, fear and superstition make life very difficult and dangerous. Many organisations have tried and failed to remain there. In thinking through the best way to help people, our partners Thomas and Joyce Lubari have decided that the best way to assist long term is to help some become self-sustaining by training them. This will help them immediately while they are in training, when they finish training and are able to gain employment in Uganda while still refugees and hopefully long term, when they return to South Sudan. 

In the past some were trained in two year courses but the costs were considerable and a change was made for 2017 to train more people in shorter courses. This is proving to be a much better strategy although the two people previously trained are doing well. 

Taban Simon is working at the Koboko Health Centre that serves the municipality of Koboko, a population of more than 400,000 people. He serves the self-settled refugees in Koboko. The refugee population almost exceeds the local population since the influx from South Sudan. The other graduate is in the refugee camp of BidiBidi. He is resettling himself and will soon be absorbed in the refugee camp's health centres. Their certificates are nationally recognised therefore they can work anywhere in the country if they are not limited by work permits. This should not be a problem in the foreseeable future while there are so many refugees continuing to enter Uganda. 

Profiles of 2017 Scholarship Students 

Jogo Margaret

Jogo Margaret is a south Sudanese refugee. She has a deep interest in studying nursery teacher training. Her desire is to be self-reliant which is only possible through attaining the training of her interest. She is studying childcare at the Nile Vocational Institute, Jinja. 

Aligo Vicent

Aligo Vicent is aged 27 and is a refugee. He is registered at Rhino camp. He is happy that in the future he can have a skill that can earn him a living. Aligo is from a family without any income. Since he got the scholarship he is hopeful that he can face the future with courage since he will have had a skill. Aligo is studying plumbing. He hopes to be self-reliant and support his family and his parents. 

Emmanuel Data Hillary

Emmanuel Data Hillary lost his mother while he was young. He grew up under the care of his maternal uncle. He faced many challenges affecting his commitment and performance at school. Because of the war in South Sudan he walked on foot to enter Uganda from Yei. Emmanuel is grateful to Life Gospel Ministries and BHW for the opportunity to attend a vocational school. Emmanuel hopes to be an electrician. He is taking a course on electrical installation at St Mulumba Polytechnic school in Jinja.

Hellen Fikira John

Hellen Fikira John is 18 years old. She is a refugee in Rhino refugee settlement camp. She escaped from South Sudan with her brother. Hellen's parents are internally displaced in South Sudan.

She hopes to open a business after finishing her course. Hellen is studying hairdressing at St Mulumba Polytechnic School in Jinja. She is grateful for BHW and Life Gospel Ministries for the scholarship. 

Konga Florence

Konga Florence is 20 years old. She is from a humble family with almost no income besides being peasants. The parents are both separately displaced. The father is internally displaced and the mother a refugee in Uganda registered at Rhino camp. She hopes to be self-reliant on completion of her course and expects to support others in future to be like her. She is taking a secretarial course at the Nile Vocational School in Jinja.

Malish David

Malish David lost his mother and is now a refugee in Uganda. He trekked all the way from Yei to come to Uganda, about 80kms on foot. His father is internally displaced in South Sudan.

He hopes to be self-reliant on completing his course in cosmetology at St Mulumba Polytechnic Institute in Jinja. Malish is grateful to BHW and Life Gospel Ministries for the scholarship to take this course.

Winny Charity

Winny Charity is 19 years old. She lost her father and her mother is internally displaced in Yei. She lives with her younger brother in Koboko. She expects to be self-reliant on completion of the course.

Winny is grateful to BHW and Life Gospel Ministries for the scholarship opportunity she got to make a future for herself by equipping her with skills for living.

Oscar Moro

Oscar Moro aged 20 was born in refuge in Koboko in 1996 and repatriated after his advanced secondary education only to be forced back to refuge on the 3rd of July 2016.

Oscar has a deep interest in studying agriculture at a university level however the opportunity to study computer places him to better his life and that of his parents since his training is marketable in terms of creation of computer secretarial services and digital printing services. He is studying at Bethel Business Institute in Jinja. 

Likambo Isaac Moses

Likambo Isaac Moses is aged 25. He is South Sudanese from Yei, previously a county now a state. His parents are both asthmatic and could not support him beyond completion of his secondary education,”O” level. Isaac worked in a motor garage selling and fixing tyres while in Sudan in the border town of Kaya to raise school fees for his younger brothers and sisters. His parents are both displaced to Rhino refugee camp in Arua district in Uganda. Likambo is a registered refugee in the same camp where his parents live.

Likambo is grateful to BHW for the support towards computer training with marketable packages that will enable him to create his own business related to digital printing of banners, provision of secretarial services etc. He is studying at Bethel Business Institute in Jinja.  

Ayiki Moses

Ayiki Moses is aged 21. He is South Sudanese. He lived with his parents until 3rd July 2016 when he fled for his life to Uganda as a refugee.

While in South Sudan he faced many challenges related to delayed or failure of payment of school fees since his parents were peasants who have to wait for harvest to sell their crops which often are harvested late.

Ayiki is grateful to BHW for the opportunity to train in a hands on machine skill and he will be able to create his own job that will help him further his education and establish him in life.

Tawor Keki Jertu 

Tawor Keki Jertu is aged 24 and from Nuba mountains in South Sudan. He emerges from the marginalized tribes of Nuba who once suffered great oppression in the hands of the Arabs.

He grew up an orphan under the care of his mother. He faced many challenges in life but later was brought to Uganda and lived in the church in Koboko where he got a secondary education but could not go further.

Tawor believes that after the completion of this training he will be able to be self-dependent and support his family and relatives who live far away back in Nuba mountains in South Sudan.

Tom Brown 

Tom Brown is aged 24 and is a South Sudanese whose parents are both displaced to the refugee camp. He is now dependent on insufficient food rations with no income.

Brown hopes to better his life and that of his parents on completion of the training which he believes will place him in a job opportunity whether self-employed or not. He is grateful to BHW for the support toward his training. 

Moro Ben

Moro Ben, aged 21, is a South Sudanese from Yei State. Both his parents are living but separate lives in Uganda and South Sudan. Ben lives with his mother in Uganda. He was born in refuge in Uganda in 1995 two years after the first influx of refugees in 1993 during the war against the Khartoum regime. He was brought up mainly by his mother who laboured tooth and nail with no education to bring up Ben and his other brothers and sisters.

Their plans to return home was frustrated by the outbreak of the war last July. They are all registered to access food rations from the camp though living in Koboko town with no piece of land to farm. He believes he will live peacefully in a loving environment on completion of his course of videography which is marketable.