Supporting the MBB women scholars

As evidenced by this photo, Sr Edvine Tumwe-sigye related easily and warmly with the MBB Scholars during the 2012 Leadership Training Week.  In her role as MBB Scholarships Coordinator for S.Sudan, she is tasked with visiting all of them at their various high schools and colleges throughout S.Sudan, advising them on their studies and career choices, coordinating their placements with the Administrators at their chosen schools, and implementing all policies for the Scholarships Program. Clearly the program is in good hands!

Local Butcher in Narus

Fresh goat meat--a rare and real treat for the participants in the MBB Scholars' Leadership Training week--gets chopped by a butcher with a panga (machete) in the outdoor kitchen of the workshop compound.  The chopping board is, well, literally a chopping board: a conveniently placed tree branch!

Adding Fuel to the Fire

Toposa women arrive at the Narus compound, bringing wood that they have laboriously cut by hand, carried on their heads for several hours from a distant forest, and then proffered to the cooks at the MBB Scholars' Leadership Training site. The staff purchased it as fuel for the fires that they built outdoors each day to cook the meals for the 55 participating scholars and staff.

Cyber-Master Emmanuel

Besides having nearly 20 years' experience working in S.Sudan, speaking 5 local languages, having a master's degree in finance administration and a strong background in IT, Brother Emmanuel Dan demonstrated during the 2012 MBB Scholars' Leadership Training week that he is also an accomplished teacher. After setting up 21 laptops in the learning hall, configuring them all, installing typing software, wiring them elaborately to work via generator, and then covering them with bedsheets to keep away the dust and the bugs overnight, Emmanuel unveiled his learning lab on the first morning of the workshop. The participating Scholars gave their full attention despite the heat and the crowded conditions, eager to learn. For many it was their first time to see a computer up close or touch a keyboard. For all it was their first organized exposure to lessons in Windows, Word and the internet. Even after their daily 3-hour session, the scholars didn't want to leave--the highest compliment any class can give a teacher.  Amazingly, teaching computer skills is merely Brother Emmanuel's side job: his full time role is to coordinate MBB's Women's Micro-Enterprise programs in S.Sudan.  MBB certainly has expert staff!

Women can do THAT?

In the shade provided by a lorry parked in the hot, dusty Narus compound, two MBB Scholars consult the profile cards of famous women. As one element of their Dec 10-15, 2012 Leadership Training, each participant gave several presentations to the whole group, practicing the skills of concentration, reading comprehension, summarizing of main points, projecting one's voice clearly, and speaking confidently in public.  In the process they all learned about women inventors, thinkers, and leaders like Marie Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sirleaf Johnson.