Mary Arun Gol, a graduate of Loreto Rumbek, has worked for Peace Canal in Rumbek since 2020. She is the Deputy Area Coordinator for Greater Rumbek, focusing on women’s empowerment and peacebuilding activities.

She joined Loreto Rumbek in 2010 and graduated Senior Four in 2013. She then completed a degree in Agricultural Sciences from the Catholic University in Wau, South Sudan.

Mary initially learned about Loreto Girls Secondary School through her cousin, who attended the school before her. She went for an interview in 2010 and was successful. Her father did not agree with girls’ education then, which was very challenging, but her older brother and her mother supported her studies in school.

She is the first girl in her family to be taken to school. Her father has 10 wives. Once Mary finished school and went to university, her father changed his view of education as he saw her growing positively. He then agreed to send her sisters to school and encouraged the extended family to support the girls’ education. Mary currently has a niece at Loreto Secondary School.

“Many girls have been taken to school because of me.”

All twenty of her sisters are now educated. Their father has realised that good comes when you support girls because Mary supports him with money when needed. Mary said that her family received so many more cows for her marriage because she was educated, compared to her uneducated siblings. This has also contributed to the fact that more girls have been allowed to attend school.

When Mary joined Loreto, she said she was not serious about her studies, but the environment of Loreto and the support she received changed her life completely. Mary married in 2015, and her husband promised to support her continued education, and he did! She now has two sons, both in school – one in Primary and the other in kindergarten.

Mary is now seen as a role model among her relatives and the community members in her village. Young girls and women come to her for advice, girls want to be like Mary and mothers say, “I want my daughter to be like Mary.” She encourages girls to continue their studies, and three of her community members have graduated like her – two completed Agricultural Studies, and one completed Law. Seeing these women the future of South Sudan is looking brighter.

This work would simply not be possible without financial support. We are very grateful to all those who believe in our mission and support our work, particularly in relation to educating and empowering girls and women. If you would like to help us assist more women like Mary, please visit our online donation page.