Former international student building foundations for development (Issue 5, 2012)
Clement Deng has always dreamed of making a positive difference in his home country, South Sudan. However, it wasn’t until after he finished his Bachelor of International Development at La Trobe University that he realised how he could go about making constructive change for his people.
Ninety per cent of South Sudan’s population is illiterate and Clement sees this as a barrier to achieving economic, political and social development. He has now dedicated himself to building a school to address the education shortage, especially for females, called Guiir Baai (Build the Nation).
Clement has an extremely personal motivation for wanting to start this project.
‘[When I was young] I was badly tortured, branded with hot metal, driven out of my country and forced to spend my entire childhood across Eastern African Boarders and finally behind the Indian Ocean (Australia). Along this journey in Eastern Africa I lost my fellow countrymen and close friends who felt more like family to me. I was lucky to survive – I received an education and got married to a woman I love and many of my friends did not have the chance. Therefore, I feel that participating in the development of the land that took the lives of so many of my relatives, friends and colleagues will demonstrate that I am honouring them.’
Clement’s dedication and strength has led him to design great long-term goals for Guiir Baai.
‘South Sudan is a country composed of 64 tribes; most tribes are hostile to each other, which is not good for us as a country. So, as people of a brand new country, we are in need a single nation to be built out of these 64 tribes. To do that effectively we need every child born in South Sudan to be at school. This will reduce tribal hatred because there will be less time to be indoctrinated into tribal ideologies as most of their time would be used for school work and playing together as children of the same country.
‘Guiir Baai (Build the Nation) will bring common denomination and harmony among these tribes through educational activities.
‘When energy is taken away from internal conflict and invested in the development of the country, South Sudan will be able to move forward without the difficulties we are facing now.’
Clement found studying in Australia challenging at times, but extremely rewarding and enjoyable.
‘Studying in Australia was challenging because the electronic equipment used was different from what we were used to in Kenya. The positive part about studying was knowing that your basic needs were taken care of and having somewhere to get help if one needed it. This was not the case in my refugee study life and it’s the same for other former refugee students.’
Guiir Baai is a great cause, if you would like more information, or if you would like to support Clement’s cause, visit the Guiir Baai website.
