WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION
In 2017, Diversity Serves worked with St. John’s College of Theology and Development in Wau, South Sudan to encourage the enrollment of women in their programs. One of the primary goals of St. John’s College is to increase the number of women attaining higher education because this is recognized worldwide as a means increase the capacity of nations, lower rates of child marriage and population growth, and raise the stature of women as contributors to their communities.
When visiting Lexington, Virginia in 2015, Bishop Moses Bol Deng clearly articulated his concern for improving women’s leadership in the church and the wider society. To this end, St. John’s College had already established discounted tuition for its female theology students to encourage church communities to seek out women scholars, beyond just sending men as they have traditionally done. This strategy is working, thankfully, as the number of women recruited for 2017-2018 doubled.
The discount provided communities equals the amount of food costs for each student, so St. John’s College seeks partners to cover the “Feeding Fund” for women students. Through Diversity Serves, the Gadsden Endowment of Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington provided $1500 seed money to cover five women’s food costs for the 2017-2018 academic year to encourage others to participate in this empowering ministry. Diversity Serves is committed to finding additional partners to contribute to the St. John’s “Feeding Fund” for female students, with a goal of providing enough funding ($1800) for 6 students during the 2018-2019 academic year which begins in August.
When Susan Mead taught at St. John’s College in 2016, she found that the presence of women students enhanced the classroom experience enormously, providing a diversity of perspectives as they explored topics crucial to social justice in South Sudan. Therefore, in 2017, Diversity Serves amassed enough partnership funding to provide a full $1200.00 scholarship for one woman from the Tonj area, who began her three-year diploma program in theology in 2017. Diversity Serves is committed to continuing that scholarship funding for the next two years, the cost of which is anticipated to be $1200 in 2018-2019 and $1200 in 2019-2020.
DIVERSITY SERVES’ 2018 GOAL FOR WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT & EDUCATION: $3000.00
When visiting Lexington, Virginia in 2015, Bishop Moses Bol Deng clearly articulated his concern for improving women’s leadership in the church and the wider society. To this end, St. John’s College had already established discounted tuition for its female theology students to encourage church communities to seek out women scholars, beyond just sending men as they have traditionally done. This strategy is working, thankfully, as the number of women recruited for 2017-2018 doubled.
The discount provided communities equals the amount of food costs for each student, so St. John’s College seeks partners to cover the “Feeding Fund” for women students. Through Diversity Serves, the Gadsden Endowment of Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington provided $1500 seed money to cover five women’s food costs for the 2017-2018 academic year to encourage others to participate in this empowering ministry. Diversity Serves is committed to finding additional partners to contribute to the St. John’s “Feeding Fund” for female students, with a goal of providing enough funding ($1800) for 6 students during the 2018-2019 academic year which begins in August.
When Susan Mead taught at St. John’s College in 2016, she found that the presence of women students enhanced the classroom experience enormously, providing a diversity of perspectives as they explored topics crucial to social justice in South Sudan. Therefore, in 2017, Diversity Serves amassed enough partnership funding to provide a full $1200.00 scholarship for one woman from the Tonj area, who began her three-year diploma program in theology in 2017. Diversity Serves is committed to continuing that scholarship funding for the next two years, the cost of which is anticipated to be $1200 in 2018-2019 and $1200 in 2019-2020.
DIVERSITY SERVES’ 2018 GOAL FOR WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT & EDUCATION: $3000.00