Jal will join the EEF programme in summer 2020. With your help he will be able to go to high school and eventuially also to university. Sponsorship for Jal is only £1.10 per day!
Family Background
To avoid the civil war, Jal who was born in South Sudan, came to Ethiopia in 2014 to live with his uncle. Jal’s two brothers and four sisters remained in South Sudan. He has not heard from them since.
Jal’s uncle has three wives and nine young children. Only one of them goes to school. Jal is only allowed to continue his education, because he works at a hotel each day after school to help with the family income. This job also allows him to buy his school uniform and study materials.
Living situation
The compound is around 90 minutes’ walk from the town centre of Gambella. Nothing grows on the land and there is no electricity and no water supply. They need to fetch water from a well which is around 45 minutes’ walk away. There is no toilet, so they have to venture into the bush.
Jal shares his “room” with five of his cousins. They sleep on a thin mat on the floor. There are no materials inside the hut. Jal’s only time for study is during his work breaks at the hotel. He manages to get some lunch there too. But he does not eat breakfast or dinner.
Education and Ambition
We selected Jal out of 60 applicants this year. Despite the fact that he walks for hours to school each day, and that he has to work for his only meal, he is an optimistic and charming young man with a big plan for the future. He has seen a lot of sick people in his young life and his dream is to be a doctor one day. His grades suggest that, with the right level of support, he could achieve his ambitious goals.
Currently in grade 7, with a score of 89.8% he ranks second in a class of 100 (!!) students.
Our Plan for Jal
Jal will join the EEF programme in summer 2020. In order for him to be able to fulfil his potential, we must find him a place to live nearer to the school (to be shared with one or two other eef students). This place will have small desk space and electricity so that they can study together, as well as mattresses to sleep on and some other basic items.
In order for him to focus on his studies, he must leave his job.
We will also provide him with
- three meals per day: An egg, banana and bread (for breakfast), a traditional vegetable dish and occasionally meat (lunch) as well as their custom maze stew (dinner) which they will cook themselves.
- Some new clothes each year
- Study materials throughout his time at school.
Our support will be for grades 8 – 12.
After grade 8 (last year of primary school) there will be a review, based on his grades, to see if he will go to high school in Gambella, or if he will join our programme in Addis Ababa.
After grade 12 (last year of high school) he will go to university (our programme track record for university entrance is 100%) and we will continue to support him with a monthly allowance.
Sponsorship for Jal is only £400 per year (or £35 per month). Please support him if you can!
I WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR JAL !!
During your sponsorship we will send you
- His two report cards per year (March and July)
- Two short letters written by him each year (March and November)
- 1-2 short reports on his progress each year (March and July)
- 2-3 general EEF newsletters each year
- Lots of regular updates about our overall programme on our website and on Facebook.