The Opsimath

Help us fill this with learning in 2012

It may not be the most attractive building in the world, but for us, and the people in Nehemiah Primary School, it's one of the most exciting.

Nehemiah School is in the town of Yei in the world's newest nation - South Sudan, and this building is the newly emerging school library.

You may think that a new school library is still not the most exciting thing in the world, so here's a few facts:

• Less than 2% of children in the country complete primary education
• 85% of adults cannot read or write (92%  of women)
• The average class is made up of 127 pupils

It is therefore no surprise to learn that education is a major emphasis for this new country. That is why we at Roots have decided to put all our efforts in to ensuring that we get this library up and running (we are told that this library will be the first school library in the country...).

We have paid for the building, which is nearing completion. We have raised the funds to equip it with furniture and fittings. Now we need to fill it with learning - books!

As a trustee of Roots my main focus for the first part of this new year is to raise enough funds to allow our friends in Yei to purchase the books they require, and to pay for someone to run the library for them.

Interested in helping in some way?

Why not drop me an email at john@rootssudan.org

Happy New Year!

The Birth of a new nation - what a programme!

Tomorrow (9th July 2011) South Sudan becomes the world's newest nation. There's a nice summary of what's happening here on the BBC website, including the new national anthem:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14014083

It's difficult for us to imagine the challenges faced by the new country. We take so much for granted here in Europe, yet South Sudan is starting from a very, very basic position. There is very little infrastructure, there are challenges from nations around them (oil production is at the heart of much of this), there is the emerging famine disaster in neighbouring countries, plus a current shortage of fuel and food with South Sudan.

They are undertaking a huge programme, and I hope, without wanting to sound in any way flippant, that some of the principles that underpin MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) can be followed. For example,

• Leading Change - this is a leadership challenge of the highest order. The country needs good leaders to emerge at all levels of society to give the country direction
• Envisioning and Communicating a Better Future - there will be tough times ahead; transformational change does not come easy. Leaders will need to keep on, and keep on, communicating the Vision - the picture of a better future for the new country
• Designing and Delivering a Coherent Capability - the country lacks capability currently, it really is starting from scratch. This lack of capability was so striking when I first visited the country, and it is why our charity - Roots - is focusing its attention on helping to build educational capability through the introduction of school libraries.

The birth of a new nation - what an amazing thing to be part of. Our thoughts are with you South Sudan!

Great idea Vodafone...

... and the people at Just Giving.

They have got together to enable charities to collect donations by text, and it's really simple. So, we thought that Roots should get in on this straight away.

All you have to do is text 'Book05' and the amount of your donation to 70070. For example

Book05 £10

as your text message helps us to buy 2 books for the library that we are building in South Sudan. It's that easy!

Why not give it a try and let me know how you get on.

Many Thanks

Giving the Gift of Education

We all exist in a number of different worlds - work, family, friends and so on - so it is interesting when two worlds meet. The company that I work for - pearcemayfield - have just launched an initiative called "Giving the Gift of Education". This initiative means that for every person booking on one of their public training courses, they will donate £5 to the work of Roots, the registered charity that I serve as a Trustee.

However, the link is stronger than just giving to a worthwhile cause.

Every donation received will be used to buy books for a new primary school library that Roots in building in Yei, South Sudan. So, for every person that receives an education on a pearcemayfield training course, a child in Sudan will also receive an education. One place on a course - one book in Yei.

I feel very privileged to be able to be part of this initiative because it is so tangible. I will actually be leading some of these courses and so I can personally say thank you to the delegates attending. Then, at a later date, I will be able to visit South Sudan, walk into that library and pick up one of those books.

I find that quite exciting, I hope you do too.

If you would like to book on one of the pearcemayfield courses, take a look at the website www.pearcemayfield.com If you would simply like to buy a book for the library then email me and I'll be in touch - john.edmonds@pearcemayfield.com

99.57%

That's a fairly hefty and emphatic majority!

Today it has been announced that a total of 99.57% of South Sudanese voted to secede from the north, according to the first complete results of the region's independence referendum which took place earlier this month.

Ever since my first visit to South Sudan in January 2008, hardly a day goes by without that country being in my mind. Being there was captivating; the people are captivating; their history is captivating.

After that first visit we created the charity Roots Sudan, and since then we have been fund-raising and working to help our new friends rebuild their country after decades of war. We've had some fantastic help from friends and companies (see my company's comments here).

Our latest project is to build a library in a primary school in the town of Yei in South Sudan. You can read more about that here.

If/when this result is confirmed, the new country is set to formally declare its independence on 9 July. That would be an amazing thing  - I'd love to see that.

If you would like to read more about this, there is some excellent coverage on the BBC website. If you would like to learn more about the work we are doing through Roots - please get in touch with me, I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment, or email me at john@rootssudan.org

Vacancy - for a doctor in Sudan

Medic Assist International (MAI) is looking for a doctor with a pioneering spirit to send two (or more) years at Goli Hospital in South Sudan. The doctor will head up the ongoing development of the hospital, which has the potential to become a beacon of excellence and a model of what healthcare in the bush can be like.

Because Roots has contributed to the development of the hospital, I was privileged to be present at the official opening in June and I can report first hand on the difference that it is making in the lives of the local people.

In a country with so few qualified doctors and an appalling health status, this role might suit a medical couple with complimentary giftings, or a doctor newly retired with vision and drive still intact!

For further details please contact john@medic-assist.org

Building a Library in Sudan

A little update for those who like to keep track of the progress of our charity  Roots, and the work in Sudan.

During our visit there in June of this year, we agreed with the Head of the local Primary school that we would attempt to fund the building and equipping of a library for the school. The resources that they have are very poor indeed - the photograph on the right here shows the entire supply of books that a secondary school in Yei, South Sudan, possessed. The primary school that we aim to help had even less...

 

So, on our return to the UK a Project Brief was drafted and subsequently approved.

And now, not to put too fine a point on it (and in large letters to give emphasis!), we are seeking funding for this project.

Besides the building, the furniture and the supply of books and materials, we are also looking to recruit a local person as the librarian. We will aim to train them and fund their salary for an initial period.

£19,000 would cover all that we need to do, and so the fund-hunting has begun.

I would like to give some thanks to that great management training consultancy pearcemayfield who have continued to give me support in many ways. Thanks also to Medic Assist for the way they organised the excellent visit that we took part in during June - it was good to work with you.

Finally, if you would like to help in any way, through contributing funds or helping to find funds, I would love to hear from you. I can be contacted at john.edmonds@pearcemayfield.com

Feature in Personnel Today...

...well, at least on their website!

 

 

The article begins to show how pearcemayfield - the great training company that I work for - partners with Roots.

Roots is the name of the charity that I helped to found (together with the indispensable Susan, Jacob, Ben, Jenny and John) to work in South Sudan.

This photograph was taken on our last visit there in June of this year. It shows the level of resources in one of the primary schools, and it is one of the reasons that we are about to start a project to build a library in that same school.

We will soon be starting to hunt down some funding for this, and we are open to any ideas...

Let me give you my card...

This character decided that if he was going to attend the opening of the new hospital at Goli, South Sudan, he was not  going to turn up under-dressed. Let's face it, there is nothing more embarrassing is there?

He did, however, look like he was ready to sell me a second-hand car. That smile, that confident stare, that hand reaching for the business card - where's my credit card...?

Back to Sudan, and into the future

Next month sees a return trip to South Sudan as part of my work with the charity Roots.

This time it is all about planning the next stage of our work there, rather than the training delivery of previous trips. This has meant less preparation in one sense, which has also been helped by the fact that the trip has been organised by our friends at Medic Assist International.

We will get to see the official opening of the hospital in Goli, which we first saw being developed two years ago.

This trip is an important one because we need to create a way of being more effective than we could be with occasional visits to deliver training. That has been good, but now we need to do more. What that 'more' is we are hoping to discover on this visit.

This feels like an exercise in change management...

 

(This visit is also supported by pearcemayfield, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme)