Why Sudanese are flocking to Kenya to study

• Quality education and ‘good people’ lure students from neighbouring state

Garang Malong is the son of a rich governor from Southern Sudan. In Sudan, he enjoys the trappings of power and wealth and can afford to go to study anywhere in the world. But his heart is right here in Kenya at the University of Nairobi where he is pursuing a degree in journalism.

“I love Kenya. I’m not the only one. Many Sudanese also like studying in Kenyan schools and universities because of the quality education,” he told the Sunday Nation.

Malong came to the country after the death of Southern Sudan leader Dr John Garang, ignoring persistent calls from his father to join prestigious universities in the US and the UK.

Unlike Malong, Garang Mareng’ was only 10 when he came to Kenya as a refugee from Sudan in 1992.

Never in his wildest dreams could Mareng’, a refugee, envisage finishing school. “Life was about getting basic needs such as food and shelter,” he recalls.

Nearly two decades later, he has gone through the Kenyan education system and in June this year, he will earn his Bachelor of Commerce degree from KCA University. He is also a holder of a CPA-K from the same institution.

“I am ready to go back and play a part in my country’s development,” Mareng’ says.

When he ran away from his country, he swore never to go back but his change of heart has been influenced by the relative peace and stability in the country following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Kenya in 2005.

“I would like to go back and seek a job there, preferably with the National Bank of Sudan,” he said  after concluding the South Sudan Students’ Association annual meeting recently in the city.

At least 50 Sudanese students turned up for the meeting.

The association aims at bringing the Sudanese students in Kenya together and to liaise between the students and the Government of Southern Sudan
It is estimated that there are at least 2,000 Sudanese studying in Kenya.

Speaking at the meeting, their chairman Garang Malong-Awan, condemned the recent killings of Kenyans in Southern Sudan. 

“Kenyans are good people. They are good hosts to us. We don’t want anything that might jeopardise our stay here,” the third year journalism student at the University of Nairobi said.

The meeting at the Komarock Grace of God Church was called to deliberate on the challenges they face as foreign students in Kenya.

Ever since Sudan, Africa’s largest country, attained its independence in 1956, it has been ravaged by intermittent wars, the longest running from 1983 to 2003.