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Ethiopia: South Sudanese refugee heads school for displaced

South Sudan

Twenty-one year old Lim Bol Thong from South Sudan is on a quest to instill hope in children from his country living in the Kule refugee camp in Ethiopia. He is one of the almost 2.3 million people displaced since South Sudan ‘s civil war broke in December 2013, with more than 10,000 people killed.

“It is really good work serving as the vice principal of this school. But really it is very hard work. It is a tremendous job sometimes because as a vice principal, you are in charge of all the school properties,” Thong said.

Ethiopia hosts more than 100,000 school age South Sudanese children. Less than half are enrolled in school.

Thong says even though there is a shortage of teachers, supplies and space at the camp, he will not be deterred.

“When I think about serving people, it really excites me because as much as I serve people, it means my community will grow up. And I will produce more people to serve other people,” he added.

Ordinary South Sudanese people have bore the brunt of fighting between the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups.

On Thursday, (February 11, 2016) the country’s president Salva Kiir re-appointed his rival, Riek Machar as vice president in an effort to try to end the civil war in the country.

The announcement returned the presidency to where it was soon before fighting erupted between supporters of the two men in December 2013.

In August 2015, the two signed an initial agreement to share ministerial positions but repeatedly failed to uphold the pact.

The United Nations in January warned that the two could be sanctioned for atrocities in the conflict.

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