It is Tuesday afternoon at the beginning of December. The last national exam has been written. The girls can hardly believe their luck. Some are sceptical as to whether they have passed the exams of the last few days, but joy and relief quickly break through again. They sing and dance and sit together with the other girls from the younger classes, who have spent half the day cooking a celebratory lunch in anticipation of this moment.

Later in the afternoon, the girls get busy again. The dormitories have to be cleaned, and their own belongings have to be packed up. Together, they leave the Loreto compound, heavily laden and happy.

Eleven of them, our largest group to date, have spent more than half their lives here. They already attended kindergarten and primary school in Loreto Rumbek and have now successfully completed their secondary education. We ask them about their most memorable and challenging experiences, and they are bursting with stories.

“In primary, I loved all the games and sports”, says Martha, and everyone nods vigorously. “I love to remember our friendly volleyball matches on Freedom Square with all the other schools. I was so proud to be allowed to play for Loreto,” Debora adds.

Bakita loved the tailoring classes. “I made my own dress and a small one for my sister,” she tells us proudly.

Prescilla fondly remembers the intensive course. “After our primary national exam, we used to go back to school for extra maths and English,” she explains, “That helped me to pass the entrance exams for secondary.” Somewhat thoughtfully, she adds, “The counsellor was a big help for me. Sometimes I used to think of my mother and how she struggles to support me. That made me stressed, but speaking with the counsellor makes me calm down. Now I know the best thing is to work hard and be successful. I’m proud of my mother, and I want to make her proud of me.”

Veronica admits,

“I liked our teachers. They are my role models. I like how they can talk and encourage us. They are friendly, and I want to be like them.”

Margaret said, “I always admired the girls in secondary. Seeing them motivated me. In the beginning, I didn’t know the benefits of being in school. We used to come to the school, but we came late. We attended the classes, made a lot of jokes and waited for lunch and then went home. But then I saw the secondary girls, and I just understood, this school is good, and if I work hard, it can improve my future. It always motivated me to see the others ahead of me. In Primary, I wanted to be like the secondary girls. Now I want to be like the interns, and I would love to go to university.”

Debora remembers the hard times very vividly, “I had to repeat primary five, and then I realised I have to be serious with learning and reading. I learned from my mistake. Some of our teachers were interns. I wanted to be like them. I admired them for having a job, and they can go to university.”

Veronica recalls her dad’s struggles. “My father took all his children to school, but sometimes he did not have enough money, and then it took a bit of time until I could register in school. He managed somehow every time. I’m thankful for that.”

Teresa shared, “I was supported by my uncle because my mom and dad had never gone to school. They are farmers and stay at home. We lived far away from school. I used to walk for two hours. So, I had to wake up as early as I could and come to school. As soon as the sun came out, I started moving.” The other girls nod. Most of them had to walk for more than an hour.

“Do you remember” asks Margaret, “our first years, when we were taught under the trees?” Everyone starts laughing. “Yes, and we had to go home again when it started to rain, but at least we had books and pencils and good teachers,” said Christine.

We could listen for hours to all these small and big memories, all the joys and sorrows, but we are also interested in future. When asked about their dreams, they were happy to share.

Assunta starts, “I wish to continue with my education because the more I continue, the more I see improvement in my life. Of course, primary and secondary have shown me what I’m capable of. Now I want to go the next step.” And the next step is university. They all dream of studying, and some of them already know very clearly what their favourite subjects would be – law, accounting or something with agriculture.

Veronica says, “I want to be like those big people, like those responsible people. I want to be somebody’s role model like the way others are my role models. I want to be responsible in future. Responsible in agriculture. To help our people have enough food in future.” Hellena dreams of being a nurse. Teresa said she dreams of having a house and children, a job and a good husband. They all start laughing. Of course, everyone wants to have this, they confess.

“Everyone should be able and allowed to go to school.

Prescilla finally concludes, “In my family, I’m the only one in the school, among the eight children. I liked learning accounting, and I hope with this knowledge I can help my family. If I get the chance to come back for an internship, I want to take some of my family members to school. Everyone should be able and allowed to go to school.”

Running Loreto Primary School would simply not be possible without your financial support. We are very grateful to all those who believe in our mission and support our work. If you would like to help us give children a better future, please visit our online donation page.