Francis Bok, School in Gor Ayen and
Reconciliation Initiative
"As a slave, I was deprived of an education.
There is no more strategic help I
can get for the people of my home town
than to invest in education for their
children."
__Francis Bok
"This is the current 7th grade
classroom. Our school will give the children
of Gor Ayen a place to learn, even during the rainy season."
Francis Bok
Gor Ayen, a village in Aweil North County, Northern Bahr Al Ghazal State, is the home of Francis Bok, the author of "Escape
from Slavery,The
True Story of My Ten
Years in Captivity and My Journey to Freedom in America"
who was abducted into slavery at age
seven. He recently returned for
the first time to the site in Gor Ayen where his family was killed.
"The
adults and children of Gor Ayen have one request, 'Help us build a
school.' I told them that I
would go back
to America and find the
friends who will help them get the supplies they need to build the
school. This is a
big goal, but I know that together we can do it,"
says Francis. "As a slave, I was deprived
of an education..
Most of the children in Gor Ayen have just recently returned after being
displaced by the 22-year long
war between Northern and Southern Sudan
which ended with a peace treaty in 2005. Victims of
war, these children
have not had access to education, and they are determined to make up for
lost time.
But the children of Gor Ayen have no school building. Currently grades
1-6 meet in the shade of six
different trees. Grade 7 meets in a
dilapidated frame that holds a few palm branches for shade. During
the
rainy season,
the 13 volunteer teachers and three paid teachers have to cancel school
for their
320 pupils. The first priority of the people of Gor Ayen is
to build a school for their children. Town leaders
have begun to make
bricks, and all the townspeople have pledged to donate their labor.
"My parents were killed on
this spot, not far from the dividing line between North and South
Sudan.
The school we
will build here will open a new future for these children, and will also
be a beginning place
for deeper
reconciliation between Northerners and
Southerners," explains Francis Bok (above in blue shirt).
Francis Bok with the new well in Gor Ayen.
Francis Bok
Reconciliation Initiative
Francis Bok, former
slave, modern day abolitionist
At the age of seven, Francis Bok
was captured and
enslaved during an Arab militia raid on a village
outside Aweil, South Sudan on May 15, 1986. Bok
saw adults and children brutalized and killed all
around him. In December of 1996, Bok escaped
slavery and was resettled to the U.S. in 1999.
Francis is an excellent speaker, and you can learn
more about inviting Francis, as a modern day
abolitionist, to speak on such topics as slavery and
genocide in South Sudan from
The American
Program Bureau.
Francis also works and speaks on behalf of Sudan
Sunrise to further reconciliation for peace, unity and
solidarity in all Sudan. A fund has been established
at Sudan Sunrise to allow schools and other
sponsors to partner with Francis as he speaks on
behalf on the Gor Ayen School education and
reconciliation initiative and as he works with Sudan
Sunrise for reconciliation for all people in Sudan.
The purpose of this fund is twofold: to cover costs
for Francis' travel and other costs related to his
reconciliation initiative and to provide Francis with
discretionary funding to provide direct assistance
to those in need in South Sudan.
You can partner with Francis and support his
reconciliation initiative by selecting "Francis Bok
Reconciliation Initiative."
To request Francis to speak at your school or
organization about his education and reconciliation
initiative, please call the Sudan Sunrise office
at (913)599-0800 or email
.
I want our school
in Gor Ayen to be a starting point for reconciliation.
This school will not be only for Southerners but for Darfurian
children as well.
This school will be a living demonstration of the value of
cooperation among people of different tribes,
regions and religions. As education opens a new future for the
children,
it will also deepen their understanding and respect for one
another.
I was once a slave. But the slavery of hatred and tribalism is
the worst slavery of all.
I want to help set free the people of Sudan, and I believe the
way to do that is education."
__Francis Bok
Education and Reconciliation
Francis Bok had been held as a slave for years in Darfur, yet, when
he returned to his home town, he took
four Darfurians with him as a sign of solidarity and reconciliation. While there, Francis and the
Darfurians videotaped a call for all Sudanese, both Christian and
Muslim, Northerners and Southerners, to stand in unity in the face of calls for war.
"I want Darfurians to help build this school,
so that the people of Francis' village will know we are their
brothers and sisters. We would like to help rebuild
this school as a sign of reconciliation between the people of Darfur
and the South."
The rainy season ends roughly in October, and construction will
begin as soon as the variables of weather and contributions make
that possible. It is hoped that, by the beginning of the next rainy
season (April), the classrooms will be completed, so that the
children of Gor Ayen no longer will have to cancel school for lack
of protection from the weather. Future phases of the school
will include a library and a guest house for volunteer
teachers.
You can partner with Francis to support the Gor Ayen School Project
by making a donation.
599-0800
599-0800