In South Sudan I was there both as
a teacher and a student- hopefully the former took place almost as
often as the later- which was everyday. Being a teacher in Nzara has
especially changed my life, as I have had the opportunity to teach,
work and live side-by-side the villagers of Nzara. I have been able
to endure living in immense poverty and survive with the same
struggles and challenges as the Zande people and sometimes provide
solutions or ways around living with such hardly bearable
conditions.
Being a teacher in South Sudan
has been a unique and rewarding experience in and of itself. My
teaching escapade has been unique in the sense that I have not been a
typical teacher, but rather a constant teacher. Whether it be a
planned and structured teaching I have performed in the schools, or
an organized activity I have taught the youth or even a spontaneous
lesson under the stars, the limitless variety of lessons has been
instrumental for me in learning more about the life-style and culture
of Zande tribe.
I feel that my time was very very
well spent as I learned more than I ever imagined about the people of
South Sudan that were about to become free. I learned more than I
ever imagined about a proud Zande tribe of 1000 years in age who's
kingdom was the last to fall in 1905 with the murder of their King
Gbudue during the colonization era. The separation by European
imposed boarders resulting in Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo
and the Central African Republic, and now results in the new nation
of the Republic of South Sudan. Being a teacher/student at the start
of this new nation has been monumental in my growth and development
and has given me an awareness of the world that I never had prior to
my South Sudan journey. Of equal importance and maybe of more
importance I learned more about myself than I ever knew.
From living 18 years of my life,
and receiving my education from schools in America, I have grasped
the belief of what an ideal life is, by growing up in a family where
we did not have to worry about food, water or shelter. Also by
attending schools with fantastic reputations and educational systems
that provide their students with resources to ensure their success, I
had been naïve to the outside world. Since coming to South Sudan
never have I appreciated life in America more, especially as I teach.
Seeing the lack of resources, the impoverished environment and the
dilapidated structures students are taught in is very depressing. In
conversation with a local he said in the tribal language of PaZande,
“I don't know why my son goes to school. If he stayed at home our
family could make more money from our garden.” That being said, it
isn't far off the spectrum to draw the conclusion that students
seemingly have life stacked against them, as firstly they have no
transportation of getting to school other than walking and often
times the distances they travel are quite far. Then factoring in when
the students reach school they are, more likely than not, taught by
untrained teachers and that in and of itself is quite a disadvantage.
Then the culminating factor is that the students have no resources
such as text books, internet access or educated parents to help
enhance their educational studies. As I reflect on these
contemplations I feel a large amount of sympathy for the students who
are victims of a post-war era, and within my teachings I have made an
effort to extend every opportunity possible for my students to seek
extra help. Because of the effort to go the extra mile, so to speak,
I know my students have enjoyed every teaching I have performed in
Nzara, South Sudan.
In correspondence with my father
H. Milton Cole he shared a bit from the play Equus
by Peter Shaffer. “On an ultimate scene I cannot know what I do in
this place- yet I do ultimate things. Essentially I cannot know what
I do- yet I do essential things.” I recalled that prior to my
departure in May 2011, as I visited The South Sudan Mission in
Washington D.C and being told by Enoch Deng, Chief Information
Officer, “George you will be a part of history.” Also in recent
conversations with Bishop Samuel, my teacher, my mentor, my
colleague, my African father said, “George you came to Africa as an
America lad, you will return to America as an African- American man!”
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