Source: UNICEF and South Sudan MICS 2025.
Loreto Aweil is a new education mission taking shape in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan.
The project began with a request from five graduates of Loreto Rumbek, who approached the Loreto Sisters with a clear hope: that girls in their home region of Aweil could have access to the same education, safety, and opportunity they had received.
In response, the Loreto Sisters held wide-ranging consultations with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Lands, the Catholic Diocese, local government, and traditional leaders. These conversations confirmed both the urgent need and the strong local support for a new Loreto school in Aweil.
In Aweil, many children and young people face significant barriers to education.
The region lacks basic educational infrastructure, and safe boarding facilities for girls are not available. This is a critical gap. For many girls, access to a safe place to live and learn can determine whether they remain in school or are forced to leave early.
Poverty, early marriage, insecurity, distance, and limited school facilities all place pressure on children’s education, especially for girls. Without safe and accessible learning pathways, many young people are left without the opportunity to complete their education and shape a different future.
Loreto Aweil responds to this need by creating a safe, structured, and supportive education community where children can begin learning, girls can continue their schooling, and families can see new possibilities for the future.
In 2004, the Loreto Sisters responded to the Courage to Move initiative and began their mission in South Sudan, where girls’ education was extremely limited.
What began as a single girls’ boarding school in Rumbek has grown into a vibrant education and health initiative. Today, Loreto Rumbek serves more than 1,200 children in its primary school and 385 girls in its secondary boarding school.
More than 500 girls have graduated from Loreto Secondary School, with many now studying at university or leading change as educators, health workers, and community leaders.
Loreto Aweil builds on this proven model, extending the hope and opportunity of education to another region where the need is great.
The vision for Loreto Aweil will take time to realise. Over the coming years, the mission will develop in three connected phases.
The first phase focuses on building the foundations of a safe and functioning school community. The secondary school is already under construction, with two four-classroom blocks being built. A girls’ dormitory is due for completion in November 2026, and the first kindergarten block is also underway.
The security wall is being built in stages and is currently approximately halfway complete. Completing the wall is critical, as girls cannot move into the dormitory until the compound is properly secured.
Future phases will expand the secondary school, establish the primary school, develop staff accommodation, strengthen solar and power infrastructure, and create practical skills opportunities, including a bakery and tailoring centre.
The long-term vision extends beyond the classroom. Loreto Aweil is planned as a wider community hub, bringing together education, health, skills training, agriculture, and lifelong learning.
Education has already begun at Loreto Aweil.
Each day, 36 kindergarten-aged children gather for three hours in the shade of the trees. It is a simple beginning, but one filled with promise. These first children represent the future of a much larger mission, one that will grow from early learning into primary education, secondary boarding, practical skills development, healthcare, and community support.
Every part of the project has a purpose.
A classroom means a child can learn. A dormitory means a girl can safely remain at school. A security wall means students can live and learn in safety. Staff accommodation means the school can attract good teachers. A road means children, teachers, and supplies can reach the school. A health centre means families can access care. An education centre means learning can continue throughout life.
Together, these investments create something much bigger than buildings. They create a place where children, young people, and families can learn, grow, and build their own future.
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