St. Genevieve Academy Boarding Secondary School Foundation Laid and Blessed in Tombura County, Western Equatoria State.

The Bishop did this as he toured the construction of the new Mother and Child Hospital which is being built by the Diocese in the same area.

Bishop Hiiboro expressed that his diocese is complementing the efforts of the Government by establishing learning institutions in order to build a better future for all children in Tombura-Yambio without discrimination.

He explained that the diocese initially wanted to construct a boarding school for girls only but after consultation, the initial plan was changed so that the school can cater to both girls and boys who will be admitted into the boarding facility.

The school has been named after St. Genevieve who during her lifetime promoted quality education for every child she encountered.

The bishop said that the school is expected to excel in many ways particularly in practical sciences so that the children who will have passed through the institution will be more endowed with skills and knowledge.

Before blessing the foundation stone, Bishop Hiiboro who loves to be more practical picked a panga and started clearing the place to encourage the school administration to maintain the spirit of practical activities in the school, something that the children who will pass through the institution will inherit.

Bishop Hiiboro further said that the school will not only admit children from Tombura but from South Sudan as a whole. This is in a bid to unite the South Sudanese children as the institution endeavors to build lasting peace among the children of South Sudan.

Bishop Eduardo also inspected Christ the King Nursery school which is under construction and whose walls have been completed. The nursery school run by the diocesan religious Sisters known as Sister of our Lady of Peace led by Sr. Jacinta Habiba Dagbaboro in Tombura Parish.

Mathew Kasiano, Tombura County Education Director who spoke during the event, expressed readiness and commitment to work and cooperate with the church as well as do what is needed to make sure that the school will achieve its goal and vision.

He expressed that it has been decades without a boarding school in Tombura as the last time there was one was in the 1960s when the Comboni Missionaries had a boarding school in Mupoi, which is 18 miles away from Tombura.

Meanwhile, the construction of Mother and Child Hospital in Tombura is nearing completion as the workers are now plastering the walls and floor and also fixing the doors and windows. The hospital will have both maternity and pediatric wards, theatre, and other facilities for easy health care services to the people.

Mother and Child Hospital now will be the second biggest hospital after St. Theresa Nzara hospital under the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio in Western Equatoria State.

In December 2020, during Christmas, the Bishop pronounced the year 2021 as the year of work and construction of churches, schools, and hospitals. So far the construction works have started in a number of parishes in accordance with the diocesan action plan.

By, Elias Ginana Mangbondo