David (left) and Peter have been hired as part of the construction team in Biong, and are currently working on building tukals with money that Philanthropy has donated. So far they have built two, and are working on a third. They ask that we pray for the community in Boma, as one of their best teachers, Anthony recently died. They ask for prayer that God will provide new teachers for the school, for the safety of their staff, and for grace in the mentoring of the new pastors they are bringing in.
Here’s Rosemary with some of the students from the school. They recently planted Maize at the school farm, and the community is working on raising enough crops to become self sufficient in food production. Clearly there has been a lot of growth in Boma and Biong this past year, and our hearts delight in seeing such encouraging progress.
Here are some sobering facts about South Sudan, and some major reasons we’re so involved with the area:
- South Sudan, though one of the poorest countries in the world, is also one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to live: an apple can go for $2 or a mud hut for $1500/month to rent in some areas
- 90% of the population makes under $1 per day, and there is 90% unemployment in the area
- Anywhere from 1 in 2 to 1 in 4 children don’t live to see their 5th birthdays
- South Sudan has 15 of the world’s 16 most deadly diseases, and there is about 1 Doctor per 500,000 people
- There are well over 1 million orphans in South Sudan
As a result of these heartbreaking statistics, we make South Sudan a huge priority when it comes to donating our proceeds, and a large amount goes to seeing progress in the area. We have close relationships with the individuals who are involved in overseeing growth in both Biong and Boma. Occasionally they’ll send us updates and pictures, many of which we’ll be posting here so that you can keep up with the progress, since our customers have a huge part in providing the funds for our charities. Stay tuned for lots of progress updates!