Nearly 100,000 South Sudanese fled from their homes into Uganda when political disputes within the ruling party in South Sudan led to the breakout of violence.Within the settlement camps in Uganda, South Sudanese refugees are using their agricultural skills to raise funds for their children’s school fees. Among these concerned parents is James Maker Ter. He works every day to clear weeds from his farm. During their holidays, his five children work alongside him to expand the land they are working. Although the United Nation refugee agency is supporting him, “I have to do more,” he says, “in order to support my family. I see this land has a lot of opportunities and I have decided to cultivate and I know doing this job will strengthen me.”Last year he produced 50 bags of maize, each weighing around 25 pounds. He intends to produce more this year. Out of those 50 bags last year, he sold 20 of them to buy school uniforms for his children and to pay their medical bills.He is encouraging his fellow refugees in the displaced camps to take up their hoes and begin cultivation. Farming, he pointed out, does not require lots of capital. “When you produce more food, you will not have any problem. By engaging yourself into agriculture is likely to make you richer. If you sell clothes it may not work out in the hunger time, but if you have more grain stored and then your business can still boom,” said Maker.Another refugee, Mary Nyaber Koryom, who cares for 10 children in her house, says it has not been easy to provide for her children’s needs, like school uniforms and fees. “We have so many challenges to do this job. We lack tractors and buying pesticide become very expensive. We lack support to practice agriculture; we do this work for the sake of our own surviving in the camp,” she said.This is one of the two major thrusts of Africa Sunrise Communities – to help refugees in the Ugandan camps to take up gardening and agriculture, both for their own food source and for them to be able to afford schooling for their children. Your gift to our foundation can help to provide the means for these refugees to get started in providing for themselves and their families.(Information for this article was adapted from an article from the Sudan Tribune, March 6, 2016.)