“Yes, women can”: Winning Loreto essay sends a message of hope
Khana Kockedhie Magel, a 16-year-old student at the Loreto Girls’ Secondary School in Rumbek, has been named winner of this year’s UN Missions essay-writing competition for secondary school students in South Sudan. As a young woman in a country that has been torn asunder by conflict and violence, Khana composed a message of hope and optimism in response to the topic set by the UNMISS contest: “How can women contribute to durable peace in South Sudan?”
“Women may be the only hope left to bring peace to South Sudan.”
12 Loreto students entered the contest, with two girls reaching the top five in the Lake State region. Ating Kaman Makoi won third prize, while Khana, a student from the Senior 3 class, was awarded the regional prize for the winning essay, with the message that “women may be the only hope left to bring peace to South Sudan”.
Khana’s message is clear: if South Sudan is to achieve lasting peace, women’s voices need to be heard. “Women play an important role in bringing up the future generation,” she says. “If they get the chance, they can provide permanent solutions to the conflict in South Sudan and assure the young that peace will come. Eventually it will result in economic growth and a better South Sudan for all of us, and for generations to come.”
“For women to make a difference, they need to be given a proper education.”
Mr Dut Makoi Kuok, Minister for Education in Western Lakes, spoke at the awards ceremony, acknowledging the crucial role of women as “builders of the nation”. “Women, in my understanding, are the builders of society,” he said. “They will always think about and do what is right for their children, and therefore for their society.”
Speaking at the awards, Mr Kwame Dwamena Aboagye, Head of the UN Mission’s Field Office in Rumbek, also gave words of encouragement to the students gathered, urging them to “study well”. “It is only through education that durable peace can be realised in South Sudan, and for women to make a difference, they need to be given a proper education,” he said.
This is exactly the message that the Loreto community promotes at their Rumbek schools, and we at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are proud to support them in their efforts to help as many young women as possible.
“I hope that fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say: yes, women can.”
Khana has taken this message to heart, and her award-winning essay speaks clearly of the need for respect, mercy, and peace – beginning in the home. “If a mother fights with a neighbouring woman, her child on the following day will fight with the neighbour’s child, hence leading to disputes and hatred,” she writes. Peace must begin within every individual, Khana surmises: “If you find peace within yourself you become the kind of person who can live in peace with others.”
A national winner of the essay content will be named at an awards ceremony in Juba, the country’s capital, on May 9th. Khana will represent the Loreto schools at the ceremony – and she has already made her school and her community very proud. She closes her essay with a truly inspirational thought for us all: “I hope that fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say: yes, women can”.
Congratulations to Khana, from all at the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart!
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Read more about Khana’s award on the Loreto Rumbek website and on ReliefWeb.