by Monica Dao

In the heart of South Sudan, where opportunity is scarce and resilience defines survival, Mercy Beyond Borders is transforming lives through the power of education. Among its many success stories is Vina, once a young girl raised in a mud hut during civil war, now a registered nurse and community leader. Through Mercy Beyond Borders’ girls’ education and scholarship programs, she turned adversity into purpose—proving that when women learn, communities thrive. Her story embodies the organization’s mission to break cycles of poverty and empower women and girls in developing countries to lead lasting change.

Today, Vina stands proudly in front of the newly built clinic in her childhood village, surrounded by family and neighbors. From hut to heroine, her journey is nothing short of inspiring. Vina is one of many Mercy Beyond Borders scholarship recipients that is using the power of education to transform her community.

These are the dreams of the women and girls of South Sudan. Yet most of them are still denied what the 21st century recognizes as basic human rights. The force most likely to change that over time is the education of girls.

Among the Toposa people, wealth has always been measured in cattle. Girls are treated as currency, traded for dowries of cows. As a result, families often see little reason to send daughters to school. In fact, their culture has long considered girls to be “worth less than cows.”

Mercy Beyond Borders, a tax-exempt U.S. nonprofit working with women and girls in five countries of extreme poverty, respects other cultures and does not attempt to change them from the outside. By educating girls—bringing their dignity, voices, and talents to the fore—the organization knows that cultures will evolve to everyone’s benefit. Its mantra is clear: When women learn, women matter. Then everything changes.

Against daunting odds, Mercy Beyond Borders focuses in places of extreme poverty, enrolling girls from rural villages into primary schools and then supporting them through high school and university with a wide range of wrap-around services. Rather than owning or operating schools, Mercy Beyond Borders invests in human capital. Beyond paying for tuition and books, the organization provides lodging and meals, computer training, campus nurses, libraries, monthly leadership workshops, and mentoring.

Each Scholar is engaged in community volunteer work, and their academic and personal milestones are celebrated. Ultimately, Mercy Beyond Borders alumnae become change-makers in their own communities.

Education spans many years, but one immediate and crucial benefit is that keeping girls in school reduces the incidence of early forced marriages, a particularly brutal form of human trafficking.

Many of these girls, some as young as nine, are fugitives. They have escaped forced marriages, risking their lives to flee to the relative safety of the only all-girl primary school in South Sudan, which Mercy Beyond Borders supports. Many bear physical scars from being lashed for resisting marriage. More than 80 of them are among the school’s 1,200 students. They are known as “Champion Girls” for their courage. Living at the school year-round, they cannot leave campus for fear of being recaptured by the older men to whom they were sold. For them, going home is no longer possible. Despite these hardships, the girls are thrilled to be in school. Motivated to earn top marks, they strive to qualify for high school and university scholarships through Mercy Beyond Borders. Their transformation is remarkable.

Mercy Beyond Borders intentionally chooses to work in extremely challenging places: South Sudan, Haiti, Malawi, and the displacement camps of Kenya and Uganda. Each year, the organization supports the education of 2,500 girls and young women—girls who would otherwise be confined to huts, performing manual labor all day, with no chance to develop their talents or learn their worth. Without such opportunities, they could never join the growing ranks of Mercy Beyond Borders alumnae already serving their countries as civil engineers, agronomists, healthcare professionals, IT experts, teachers, social workers, and entrepreneurs.

Mercy Beyond Borders’ Mission Statement
Forging ways for women and girls in places of extreme poverty to learn, connect, and lead.

Mercy Beyond Borders invites others to join in this work, so that more girls may walk through newly opened doors and flourish.

To donate, please visit the “Ways to Give” page at
www.mercybeyondborders.org There you’ll find ways to donate such as through phone, mail, corporate matching and more.

Your gift of $500 will keep a girl in high school for a full year. That’s tuition & books, room & board, academic counseling, and monthly leadership workshops.

On the home page you can sign up for our eNews which profiles the story of one Scholar each month. Prepare to be inspired by the ways these bright girls are rising from extreme poverty to professional careers, from huts to heroines!