New animations from our participatory film workshop, part of the ground-breaking Girls’ Education South Sudan Programme

Our latest films are part of a ground-breaking education programme in South Sudan, where girls’ lives are being transformed by access to education, in a country where on-going conflict continues to have a devastating effect on schooling and the education sector.

Working with Mott MacDonald’s UK Aid funded programme, Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS), Medical Aid Films undertook a participatory film and animation workshop in May 2017, to bring together teenage girls to tell their stories to a wider audience. Ten girls from several different locations were selected to ensure diverse representation, the workshop was held in Juba.

The resulting films and animations explore the challenges faced by girls living in South Sudan. The animations are made up of images drawn by the girls themselves and the participants also recorded the narrations to help bring the films to life.

The films cover 3 different themes, common within young female communities in South Sudan. Watch them below.

• Conflict and displacement – ‘Poni’s Journey’, follows a young girl being displaced due to conflict and moving to the protection of civilians camp in Juba.

• Economic poverty – ‘Keji Counts’, follows a young girl having to miss school as her mother thinks fees are too expensive. Instead she works with her mother at their tomato stall in the market. Keji’s maths skills mean she is able to help her mother improve their business, which eventually enables her mother to send Keji and her siblings back to school.

• Attitudes to girls’ education – ‘Rose the Engineer’, follows a young girl called Rose skipping school as she does not see any value in it, instead spending time with her boyfriend on his motorbike. When the motorbike breaks down, the engineer at the garage asks why Rose is not at school. Rose is inspired by the engineer’s work and starts attending school so that she can train to become an engineer herself.

The films will be screened to audiences in South Sudan; to schools, as part of teacher training, in community mobilisation and by the South Sudanese Ministry of Education.

The GESS programme is helping to remove barriers and promote gender equality in the country’s education system. Despite insecurity, economic collapse and logistical struggles, GESS is continuing to successfully deliver its aim of educating the poorest and most vulnerable girls, transforming a generation through girls’ education. To find out more about the project and watch our introductory film, click here.