(YIROL WEST COUNTY, LAKES STATE) – Adut Kiir Mayardit, the daughter of President Salva Kiir, has encouraged students of Panekar Secondary School in Yirol West to value education as a foundation for future opportunities. Speaking during a visit to the school, she shared her personal journey in learning and reminded students that determination and focus remain the key to success.
She recalled that her earliest lessons came from her father, who used to teach her how to read and write by drawing letters and numbers in the sand. Among the first things he taught her was how to read the clock, a skill that she said shaped her lifelong discipline for keeping time.
Adut described her experiences attending schools in different places, including Ethiopia, Gambella, Addis Ababa, and later in refugee camps in Kenya. She told students that when she first joined a class in Kenya, she could not speak English or Swahili and initially ranked near the bottom of her class. With effort, however, she quickly improved, and within months she had risen to the top twenty. By the end of her first year, she achieved fourth place in her class, a moment she said made her mother proud.
She recalled one of her happiest childhood memories, when her mother rewarded her achievement with a 20 Kenyan shilling coin (equivalent to about $0.15 or 690 South Sudanese Pounds at today’s rates). With that money, she bought soda for her South Sudanese friends in the refugee camp and celebrated her success.
The first daughter stressed that education was not something forced on her as a child, but rather something she pursued willingly because she was eager to learn. She urged the students to show the same determination, saying that discipline and focus open doors to wider opportunities.
She advised students to avoid early relationships and pregnancies, telling them that education should take priority over distractions. “Secondary education leads you to a world full of open opportunities,” she said, noting that it exposes young people to different cultures and ideas that can shape their futures.
Adut also reminded the students that school is not just about classrooms or walls but about the intentions and efforts of the learners themselves. She assured them that her ASK Foundation would continue supporting schools and communities with educational resources but emphasised that the community itself must also play an active role.
She added that she hoped to be seen not just as the president’s daughter but as a sister to the students, offering encouragement and support. “Help us help you, and please let us continue supporting one another,” she concluded, receiving applause from students and staff.
