Walls of the new building nearing completion, July 2022
Scroll down for ways to donate to the St John's College Extension Appeal
Why we are helping to build St John's College's Extension
Thanks to the vision of Archbishop Moses, St John’s College in the Cathedral compound in Wau was founded in 2012 with a mission to transform society. Under the leadership of college Principals, first Joseph Mamer and now Philip Abiel, the college has expanded enormously from 3 students when it opened to over 260 students now, studying Business Studies and Education, as well as Theology. In South Sudan the churches remain a beacon of hope for the future, and St John's College is at the heart of the mission of the ECSS Church in Wau Diocese and also serves other dioceses in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal Province. PWP has been supporting the college since 2015 and our continuing support helps pay the salaries of Theology teachers and other running expenses.
In July 2021, the Governing Council of the college, using its own resources, constructed the foundations for a new building, with four lecture halls and two offices. It is the key to further expansion of student numbers, will enable teaching to become more effective and potentially allow the college to offer a wider variety of courses. Archbishop Moses has decided that the new building is to be named The Poole-Wau Partnership Building in recognition of PWP’s role in the college’s development.
Progress with the appeal: over £40,000 raised (including grants of £16,500)
January 2022: we launch our Appeal to finance the construction of the new building.
March 2022: the initial target of £8,000 to build the walls is reached and work on building the walls starts. This rapid fulfilment of the first stage of the appeal is a marvellous achievement. The next stage of the appeal, for £12,300, the cost of the roof, is launched.
September 2022: Construction of the walls is finished.
October 2022: Slavanka Trust approves a grant of £6,500 towards the cost of building the roof.
January 2023: £12,300 is sent to the college, including the Slavanka Trust grant money, for construction of the roof.
April 2023: Construction of the roof is completed. Photos showing construction of the roof are below.
May 2023: Fundraising for the final stage of construction, the doors, windows and floor, wall and ceiling finishes, begins, with a target of £20,000.
November 2023: Thanks to proceeds from the Holes Bay Walk, some very generous individual donations and a £5,000 grant from the Charis Trust, £15,000 towards the target of £20,000 for the final stages of construction is sent out to St John's College on 8th November 2023. Two weeks later, PWP applies to the Slavanka Trust for a grant to enable us to reach the target.
February 2024: On 3rd February we heard from the Slavanka Trust that our application for a grant of £5000 to enable the college to complete the final stage of construction (fitting the doors, windows and wall, floor & ceiling finishes) has been agreed. After just over two years, our Appeal to fund this project to provide St John’s College with four purpose-built lecture rooms and two offices has been successful. In all PWP has raised just over £40,000 for this project (including £16,500 in grants from the Slavanka Trust and Charis Trust), while also continuing to send £18,000 per year to the college to help pay teaching staff salaries and other running costs.
July 2024: There are, however, two finishing touches to the new building which remain to be done: interior and exterior painting, and the construction of a verandah in front of the building, a traditional feature of buildings in South Sudan which will provide shade for students and help to keep the temperature inside the building slightly cooler. We hope to raise the cost of the verandah (c.£4,000) first, and then the cost of the painting (c.£6,500) The Trustees have decided to put all the money raised by this year’s Holes Bay Walk towards the verandah and we are planning to apply to other trusts for as much of the cost of the painting as we can get.
How to donate to the Poole-Wau Partnership
Having reached our target, our St John's College Extension Appeal is closing after two years and one month.
But our need for donations to fund our ongoing regular financial support for the college (currently £18,000 per year) and other work in the Diocese of Wau and Northern Bahr El-Ghazal province continues. We rely on the support of individual supporters and churches in the Poole & North Bournemouth Deanery. If you would like to support our work financially, please see the Donate page of this website, which explains ways to donate: https://www.poolewaupartnership.com/donate.html
Thank you so much for your generosity.
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Left: the new building with roof timbers in place, March 2023
Above: roof panels being unloaded from a truck, March 2023. |
Thank you for your support! I pray that this partnership will continue and prosper.
Philip Abiel Nyok Awuol, Principal, St John's College, Wau
