“I have lived in South Sudan all 26 years of my life with my parents and my sibling. I like it a little but but sometimes we want more out of life.
After my primary school education in 2011, I couldn’t continue the secondary school education here in Juba because we do not have the most functional educational system. So I traveled to Uganda to start my secondary school education in 2012. In 2013, I had to go back home to South Sudan because my parents could not afford the fees anymore.
We tried again in 2016 and it was the same story all over again. I was determined to further my education so in 2020, we gave it another go and unfortunately, Covid struck.
I was frustrated because I knew I was trying really hard. I wanted to be able to help my parents and support the family the way they too have supported me all these years. I decided to start concentrating on online skills like this one. The I4G Cybersecurity Scholarship with Cisco was so amazing.
Here in South Sudan, skills like this are very rare. You’d hardly find someone who has gained knowledge on cybersecurity whether as a skill or even the basics required to keep themselves safe. I was that person.
I started using my skills to teach others too. We have a power plant here in Juba and it is connected to the internet. A lot of us rely on this power plant and because of the education that I got from the training, I know how much at risk we may be if we don’t take precautions with the Power plant. So I took it upon myself to teach everybody that cared about staying safe.
The very first day I posted about my graduation from the training, I received a call immediately from a national NGO called the “Excellence Foundation for South Sudan” to organize a Master class on basics of online safety.
I have been invited to one of the main radio station in South Sudan called Radio Miraya to give an awareness message to the country and that has greatly expanded my network. In fact, I am now referred to as an Internet Champion in the country.
I am deeply excited about my achievements. I feel different, I feel very proud of myself. I started being noticed in large crowds because of Ingressive for Good and Cisco and I and my entire community are so grateful.”