The Maale Foundation is the roadway to the eradication of illiteracy in South Sudan by sowing sustainable seeds of literacy for today and future generations to resolve education crises in the nation.
The Maale Foundation
Values of The Maale Foundation
Effective Communication
We encourage open communication in our organization to share ideas and opinions, solve our internal issues, influence, persuade, and develop good working relationships with one another and with stakeholders. Leaders of the Maale Foundation are inspired to engage in communication to maintain healthy social relationships within the organization, community, and government.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Maale Foundation focuses on creating a culture that values and celebrates the differences among people and fighting for equitable practices and opportunities for all communities. At The Maale Foundation, everyone is treated fairly and equitably regardless of race, religion, national origin, age, disability, and gender.
Integrity
We show respect to all members regardless of their race, background, and gender to promote employee relations. We act respectfully and talk with respect. We hold our partners and beneficiaries in very high esteem. Consequently, we respect everybody we come in contact with, irrespective of their situation or condition.
Transparency
we understand that for organizations like ours, transparency is essential. As such, we value transparency. We also ensure that our processes are transparent to all our partners.
Philosophy of The Maale Foundation
Continue learning
We are innovative, adaptive, and eager to acquire new skills and knowledge by attending events, organizing mentorship and coaching opportunities. Always, we encourage experiential learning or hand on learning, where leaders and staff learn things by doing to help individuals practice the crafts, they could use every day to be more cooperative.
Constant improvement.
A mile is 6000 fit and it can be walked by taking one step at a time. Focusing on small changes every day can produce major improvements. We can make steady improvement in our personal life, home life, and work life by taking small steps daily that can enhance the functionality of our family, community and organization.
Cooperation
Team cooperation relieves stress. Once people work cooperatively, there is a great chance that the team members will share ideas, learn from each other, and build relationships for the benefit of an organization. Cooperation promotes creativity, and determination and establishes trust. Ultimately, team cooperation increases the success of the organization and helps in achieving common goals.
Work Ethic
We utilize the guidelines of truthfulness, sincerity, and openness that are defined in the working code of ethics. When members have finished work with honesty and integrity, the organization gains momentum. At Maale Foundation, we value our staff, stakeholders, and people in our community. We build work relationships to make a positive difference in individual life, family life, and in the life of the community.
Education Crises in South Sudan
Shortage of Teachers
Teachers in South Sudan are underpaid and irregularly paid. In addition to low pay, teachers are not paid on time. As a result, many teachers quit and some stay but do not teach.
It is easy to tell that children are not learning as soon as one’s walk into the classroom. The classroom environment is chaotic and children are bored. Teachers are unprepared and overwhelmed.
Poor Quality Teaching
Children go to schools but do not learn. The education crisis grips most parts of South Sudan. Children go to school but do not learn anything.
Both primary and secondary school children show up for school every day but do not possess basic English literacy skills.
Nevertheless, children who finish primary and secondary education do not know how to read, write and understand basic texts.
The main contributing factor to the poor quality of learning is that most teachers in South Sudan that teach primary schools have only a high school-level education and no experience in child development and literacy instruction.
Rural children lack access to public transportation
In South Sudan, there is a severe lack of transportation for rural children. Lack of access to public transport prevents rural poor children from going to school.
Even if children are able to get to school, the walking distance to schools is harmful to them. Oftentimes vulnerable children are at risk of being attacked or kidnaped on their way to school and off of school. As a result, parents do not want to send their children to schools if the schools are far away from home.
Food Insecurity
Many children in South Sudan live in poverty. Hungry children are stunted. Abnormal children do not do well in school and suffer from low self-esteem. Hungry children are less healthy and productive.
Children who are food insecure do not involve much in school activities and do not learn well. In addition, Kids who do not have enough to eat are less likely to be social and participate in extracurriculars, both in school and outside of school. Ultimately, hungry children do not focus, which might result in poor academic performance.
Negative Effects of Lack of Education
Poverty
There is a severe shortage of food in South Sudan and people are dying daily of hunger. Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese are living in poverty long before and after the independence of South Sudan. Most days, the whole family goes to bed at night hungry and scared as they are not certain where their next meal will come from tomorrow. When people have little food at all or eat only one type of food every day, they are food insecure. The vast majority of South Sudanese are food insecure. They do not have access to food, water, and shelter. Children in South Sudan are facing threats of starvation.
Lack of Access to Safe Water
Always marginalized societies who live in extreme poverty drink unsafe water. Villagers and small farmers lack access to clean drinking water. People fetch drinking and cooking water from the same river where they take bath and animal drink from. This unclean water can cause diseases and exacerbates malnutrition in children. Without access to clean water people cannot stay healthy and children cannot learn better at school. Usually contaminated water resulted in serious illness from cholera, diarrhea and typhoid.
Gender inequality
Lack of education causes gender inequality in family, community and in government level. Women and girls are expected to stay home and do housework. However, gender inequality victim usually experience harassment. This harassment causes depression and anxiety in victims. Gender discrimination do not only affect the victims, but it also affects family, friends and some organization members. Gender inequality weakened the energy, focus and moral of some crew members in the organization.
Violent Crimes
Inability to read and calculate simple math could give an employer a chance to deny you a job. Without an employment, one cannot afford to buy food and without food one can definitely die. Therefore, hunger, cold, heat, thirst and related illness could prompt a person to steal to meet their survival needs. Stealing could be the only way for the poor persons to get fund to pay for what they need to stay alive. Neighborhoods with more unemployed people have more violent crimes that inflicts fear on people and businesses.
Solutions to Education Crises in South Sudan
Teacher training
Maale Foundation strives to provide teacher training programs to help teachers improve their teaching knowledge and skills through practical, hands-on professional development.
Maale Foundation believes that occasional teacher training events will prompt teachers to learn various new teaching tools and techniques. While in the workshops, teachers will be encouraged to share their instructional practice and teaching experience with fellow educators.
Combat Food Insecurity
Food insecurity in South Sudan is a critical issue that affects the physical, emotional, and educational well-being of school children. Many children are at risk for hunger.
The team at Maale Foundation is committed to combatting the problematics of food insecurity by providing underrepresented and at-risk children with the tools, knowledge, and access to healthy food choices through hands-on education, interactive activities, and community outreach.
At Maale Foundation, we believe that education and access to healthy food are essential rights for every child. Join us in the fight against food insecurity by donating any amount you can afford.
Donate Text Books
Educational resources are always scarce in rural school communities. Children in rural villages lack textbooks and chalk. The team at Maale Foundation is dedicated to improving literacy in rural communities by donating textbooks and chalk to rural schools. When children have access to numerous books they will fall in love with learning and develop critical thinking. Children who read textbooks possess basic literacy and are likely to participate in classroom discussions.
Build Schools in Rural Communities
Maale Foundation is dedicated to building schools in rural communities to provide students with short-distance commutes, and safe learning environments.
Maale Foundation seeks to partner with local Ministries of Education to identify communities with a high need for education services.