counsel has been extremely helpful. He has a lot of experience at handling disappointed families from his days as the Yale Dean of Admissions. I have benefited greatly from his advice on how to approach this challenge. 

Our academic strategy is now a mix of remediation and acceleration. A number of our returning students and the majority of our new students are not reading at grade level. For this group, their academic journey begins with an intensive focus on foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. 

However, we have about 16 returning students who are ready for acceleration. Our goal is to begin preparing those students to enter competitive secondary schools (and, ultimately, universities).

We remain excited for these and other challenges that remain before us. In the meantime, I’d love for you to be able to see some of our recent highlights for yourself. Below, I have included pictures of our students and staff participating in different activities during the early days of the term.

In the left photo below, you can see our lead teacher, Gloria Loki, speaking to a group of prospective students. And in the right photo, prospective students are doing an entrance exam. We used it as a rough way to help us with selection, since we had so many students wanting a space at our school.

Conditions in South Sudan

The start of the year has been exceptionally difficult for South Sudan. The economy is under severe strain, largely due to the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan, through which the country’s crude oil (its primary source of revenue) must transit to reach international markets. That disruption has severely reduced government income. To make matters worse, the recent breakout of conflict in the Middle East has expectedly driven up general prices, sharply increasing the cost of living in an economy heavily reliant on imports. Those pressures are further compounded by persistent political instability, with divisions within the transitional government escalating into armed confrontations in the northern parts of the country. That has resulted in the displacement of thousands of people.

Together, these dynamics have deepened an already severe humanitarian crisis and heightened the risk of total state collapse. No one is coming to South Sudan’s aid. International support remains limited, as humanitarian agencies face funding shortfalls and shifting global attention toward other crises.

Supporting Kinyeti

As reported in our January newsletter, our fall fundraising cycle met our stretch goal of funding 2026 operations and creating the beginnings of a reserve fund. Still, funding will always be a challenge and we are already working on our operating plan and funding needs for 2027. If you know someone who might find Kinyeti an inspiring project, please encourage them to write to our Advisory Board Chair Jeff Brenzel at jeff.brenzel@yale.edu. 

And if you are moved to make a tax deductible donation of your own, you can make out a check to our 501(c)3 grant maker: Myriad USA. Note that you must write "American Friends of Kinyeti Academy" in the memo section of your check, and send it to Myriad USA, 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2400, New York, NY 10176.