South Sudan Secondary School Leaving Exam 2019: girl gets top mark!

“Most girls cannot go to school or drop out of school because they or their parents can’t afford to pay their school fees or buy other necessary school requirements.  But after receiving the Cash Transfer money, they are encouraged to stay in school”. These are words of 19-year-old Elizabeth Anyieth – the top student in the 2019 South Sudan Secondary School Leaving Exams.

After losing her father in 2018, Elizabeth didn’t think she would be able to complete her secondary education. Money had always been tight, but after the death of her father, the situation worsened. As a farmer, Elizabeth’s mother could not bring in enough money to send her to school. However, with the help of a bursary and the GESS Cash Transfers, Elizabeth was able to stay in school and buy school necessities, such as a uniform, exercise books and pens.

A three-time beneficiary of the GESS Cash Transfer, Elizabeth says the cash has played a very important role in the lives of the girls across South Sudan. “I know many girls who are in school because of the Cash Transfer they receive. Even myself – the money helped me so much and that is why I was able to buy school requirements (and) study hard. Some girls dropped out of school when the money was not given in 2018”.

Thanks to this financial support, as well as pure determination, Elizabeth was able to take her final exams in Bor High School, Bor, Jonglei State. She emerged the best student in the whole country with an overall total of 96%. She set a record for being the first ever female student to top the exams!

Elizabeth’s story is one example of the many children across South Sudan whose potential could be fulfilled if given the right resources and facilities to learn. “I encourage other girls to put in their minds that education is power. Please get someone who can inspire you to be a better person – have a good role model”, this is the message Elizabeth has for girls across the country.

GESS continues to help girls realize their dreams through support to better learning environments in schools through Capitation Grants to schools and direct support to schoolgirls through Cash Transfers.

Cash Transfers are delivered directly to girls from Primary 5 to Senior 4, across the whole country. Girls that are enrolled and regularly attending school in 2020 will receive a Cash Transfer. We aim to deliver Cash Transfers as early as possible in the academic year to enable girls to use the money for school fees and learning supplies. However, the payments are dependent on a complete set of enrolment data from across the whole country. Once we have received enrolment data, our Monitoring and Evaluation team will crosscheck these figures for accuracy and payments are made soon after.

For more information on GESS Cash Transfers, go here.

Categorised in: Cash Transfers, Girls' Education, Human Interest Story