New: Girls want to be left alone

Thanks to our projects, girls in South Sudan are becoming increasingly independent. More and more school dropouts are finding their way back to school. A new generation of young women is growing up and becoming increasingly independent.
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Philipp Lengyel

In South Sudan, the tradition of early marriage of girls still prevails in some places. This deprives them of the opportunity to finish school and lead a self-determined life.

Self-effective girls

A good argument for the education of girls is anchored in the Dinka tradition. In this tradition, women are responsible for looking after their parents as soon as they get older. Thanks to education, the girls can earn more and thus provide better for their parents.
The schoolgirls from South Sudan sing songs they have composed themselves and dance to them.
The schoolgirls from South Sudan sing songs they have composed themselves and dance to them.

The GEM clubs are an important cornerstone for girls' school attendance. The "girls empowerment movement" is actively committed to ensuring that all children can complete their schooling. For example, the members of this group go to parents' homes as soon as a girl regularly misses school. They also compose their own motivational songs and practise them with the schoolgirls. Part of one such song is: "Hejo boy leave me alone". This shows how the project builds the girls' self-efficacy.

School dropouts are brought back

45-year-old Rebecca and 29-year-old Susanna are actively campaigning for girls to be allowed to attend school. Rebecca lost both her sons during the war and says: "Even though my sons have died, I won't give up, because there are enough other children. And I'm now campaigning for them."
Rebecca and Susanna bring girls who have dropped out of school back to school.
Rebecca and Susanna bring girls who have dropped out of school back to school.

Susanna herself had the experience of not being able to finish school. She wants other girls to have a different experience. The two women try to get the school dropouts back. They say their success rate is 1:10, with one girl getting married and the other ten returning to school. This is a great success and a contribution to a more peaceful and future-oriented South Sudan.