
2 minute read
Investing in the Next | South Sudan
INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION

South Sudan’s civil war has been one of the largest humanitarian crises in the past decade; causing an estimated 400,000 lives lost, displacing more than four million people, and leaving 7.5 million people in need of urgent assistance. Born out of war and transitioning immediately into a civil war between battling tribes in the new government, South Sudan has an extreme poverty rate of 82%, according to the most recent estimates. The economy is in ruins, with a lack of job opportunities causing a deep depression that has turned many young people to drugs and alcohol.
After prayerful consideration of how to address these challenges, Mission ONE Partners in South Sudan will build and operate a technology center that will train young people in the tools they need and walk with them as they seek out productive means of employment to make a living. Convinced that people must be given the tools they need to live out their Godgiven call to make a living, Mission ONE Partners in South Sudan are building a Technology Center in the capital city of Juba in South Sudan.
The building has two floors, each large enough to house 50 people and the technical equipment needed. The bottom floor will be used to train students in coding skills, English, and biblical studies. Meanwhile, the second floor will serve as a coworking space where graduates will work with mentors to find online freelance jobs while paying a small rental fee to access the coworking space’s equipment. An environment of collaboration and support will be cultivated among coworkers.
As students graduate from the one-year training program, they will have two options: attempt to find work in the government with the help of mentors, or move upstairs to the coworking space.

The technology center will give young people a bright, new future by training them with practical skills to find well-paid, dignified work and lift themselves out of poverty. These people will be a source of hope for their families and communities, knowing that their hope is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Young adults like Benjamin, who grew up his entire life knowing war but not knowing where his next meal was coming from, will now have the opportunity to find a stable job. After going through the training program, he is better equipped to see how God designed him for good works, provide for his aging parents, and change the story of future generations.
The building construction is already underway and the team in South Sudan is preparing to open the Technology Center in October 2021.
In the first year, 30 students will finish the technology center’s one-year training program and be given the opportunity to find work.