We are rejoicing with our boys who sat their high school exams. Five boys passed their exams and will go to University or College if we can find sponsors for them. One of the boys has already started at Aviation College, as the term starts earlier than the University.
We have paid his first term and are searching for a sponsor for him. The other four boys have yet to choose their courses. Four of the boys had a percentage of over 70% in all 8 subjects, which is a high achievement. We are very proud of them.
Over the summer twelve of our boys were successfully returned to their families and repatriated to the South. We will be keeping a distant eye on the boys to ensure that they settle well. It is always our aim to rehabilitate the boys and to return them to stable relatives.
In the South the mothers are surrounded by relatives and tribal members. In this situation they get a lot of support that is not available to them in the IDP camps. We are optimistic that the boys will do well as they have extended family around them.
The younger boys have all started school again. They were finding it difficult because we only had enough funds to give them two light meals a day. This was affecting their health, especially the older boys who have to go to school in the morning and then workshop in the afternoon. We are thankful that we now have sufficient funds to feed them properly.
We are also thankful for the gift we received, enabling us to buy enough tools for the workshops. These are very important if we are going to develop income generating projects. The boys and staff are very encouraged by this gift.
The Darfur centre is half built and we are thankful that we have received the funds to build the other half. We hope to open the Nyala Live-in Centre in time for Christmas. However, the very unstable economy is not helping us. The prices of fundamental things like cement has seen increases that could destroy our plans to finish the centre on schedule.
Also, the Omdurman new sewage well has been put on hold. They reached 13 meters and were unable to continue because the rainy season had caused the underground water to rise to a very high level. They will continue the work in November or December when the water has gone down.