About
ASAH School for Orphaned Girls - PROTECT. EDUCATE. EMPOWER.
By June 2013, nine more orphaned girls will be boarding at the ASAH School for Girls bringing our student count to 31, serving five villages in Duk County, Jonglei State, Republic of South Sudan. ASAH is not an orphanage. Our students return to their extended families during school breaks to maintain family and cultural ties.
Our mission is to PROTECT, EDUCATE, and EMPOWER fifty orphaned girls through primary school, secondary school, and beyond. ASAH PROTECTS our students from forced marriage at puberty which may save their lives. In South Sudan, a baby girl born today is more likely to die in childbirth than to graduate from primary school. ASAH EDUCATES our girls in school subjects and practical life skills like gardening and sewing and EMPOWERS them to be leaders and to give back to their communities.
Imagine the impact 50 educated women will have in their villages, their state, and their country, returning as doctors, nurses, politicians, pastors, computer technicians, social workers, midwives, businesswomen, journalists, teachers and tailors. They will change the lives of those they touch, and together, they will change their world. For $100 a month, you can change the life of an orphan whose future might otherwise lead to early marriage, early death, and more orphaned children.
Educated women give birth to fewer, healthier children, bring income into their households, and their presence in a community raises the standard of living for all.
"Get Your Panties in a Bunch"
Would you be surprised to know that the reason so few teenage girls attend school in South Sudan is because they have no panties or sanitary pads? Girls determined to go to school risk embarrassment, discomfort and ridicule. There is little encouragement for them to stay in school. After missing a week of school each month, most drop out and are soon married off for the cattle dowry--sometimes as young as 12 to 14 years old.
ASAH is changing that for girls in three villages in Duk County. Your generous donations of panties, washable sanitary pads and MONEY to ship these supplies, has enabled girls who have dropped out to reenroll in school. Without these supplies, they drop out and are soon married off for the cattle dowry.
Your donations throughout the year and at our annual luncheons in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and informal gatherings across the country are keeping girls in school and giving them some control over their future.
Once the supplies arrive in South Sudan - the ASAH girls are responsible for delivering them in three villages - sometimes walking up to two hours on flooded roads to get there. These girls are demonstrating their leadership and giving back to their communities.
UNABLE TO ATTEND? Your FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS will help us ship the supplies to South Sudan. You can donate online securely or mail a check to ASAH ~ 300 NP Ave N #308 ~ Fargo ND 58102; or call Deb at 701-478-7800 with a credit card number.
Patterns
If you sew or are a member of a sewing circle, homemade sanitary pads make a great project. The link has a great deal of information about types of pads but you may find others as well. ASAH would like to recommend that some groups or individuals looks at the patterns for belted sanitary pads. No one has made these for us yet, and they would be very useful for girls or women who do not have underpants. This is a common situation. ASAH has gratefully received donations of these supplies and delivered them to Duk with the help of our matron, and our older ASAH girls who educate their peers on their use.
Kids in Kenya
When the ASAH school was still a dream, we learned that many orphans at Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya, where refugees fled during the war, had no family to return to after the war ended. ASAH sponsors nine Sudanese orphans originally from Duk Payuel in boarding schools in Nakuru, Kenya. This includes 100 % of their cost of living - uniforms, medical care, books, clothing, transportation and a place to live during term breaks. Our first student is now attending college. $200 a month supports one student in this program.