Chol Machok Augustine Magak -PublicHealth Advocate

25/12/2025

A Message of Resilience, Struggle, and Hope to All South Sudanese — Merry Christmas 2025

To all South Sudanese brothers and sisters enduring pain, uncertainty, and hardship as we cross this difficult year 2025. This year has tested our strength in ways words can hardly capture. Many have faced hunger, insecurity, loss of loved ones, displacement, unemployment, and broken dreams. Yet, despite all this, you are still standing. That alone is a powerful testimony of resilience.

Resilience is not the absence of suffering; it is the courage to rise each morning when hope feels heavy. It is the silent determination of mothers, the patience of fathers, the bravery of youth, and the endurance of elders who continue to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. South Sudanese have carried pain for too long, but we have never surrendered our spirit.

As we celebrate Christmas, we are reminded that hope was born in the most difficult circumstances. Christ was born not in comfort, but in hardship. This teaches us that light can rise even in the darkest times. Let this Christmas renew our faith in unity, compassion, and perseverance. Let it remind us that suffering does not define our destiny.

And to those who feel forgotten, you are not alone. To those who have lost everything, your life still holds meaning. To the struggling youth, your time will come. And to every South Sudanese heart carrying heavy silent tears, your strength is being seen by God, and your struggle is honored.

May this Christmas bring peace to our wounded hearts, courage to our tired souls, and hope to our uncertain future.

May 2026 open doors of healing, justice, stability, and dignity for our nation.

, , and .

Merry Christmas and a hopeful New Year to all of you my beloved South Sudanese.

20/12/2025

Acknowledging The Great Work of National Bureau of Statistics and UNFPA - Validation workshop for D4D Swap Feasibility Study Phase 1 Done Successful

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is sincerely grateful for the support of UNFPA and for the strong partnership we share in working toward a better South Sudan. My heartfelt applause goes to all UNFPA team members for their invaluable contributions towards 2026 National Population Cencus. Without your commitment, Debt-for-Data Swap Feasibility Study Phase 1 would have not been possible yesterday.

I also extend my sincere appreciation to our SC members for D4D Swap Feasibility Study for their outstanding work. Without their commitment and teamwork, this achievement would not have been accomplished.

To our able Hon. Director General, Dr. Ting Mayai a.k.a August Mayai, your wise leadership, guidance, and cooperation have been exceptional and truly inspiring. We are deeply grateful for your trust and support in the NBS and to our development Partners.

May God continue to guide you and your entire team toward even greater success of South Sudan.

16/12/2025

hahaha 😆 😂

13/12/2025

OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTRY OF GENERAL EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Hon. Kuyok Abol Kuyok
National Minister of General Education and Instruction
South sudan - Juba

RE: Free Education Policy and the Escalating Brain Drain of Teachers in South Sudan

Dear Hon. Kuyok,

I write to you as a concerned South Sudanese citizen and education stakeholder, deeply worried about the current state of public education in our country, more especially the unintended consequences of the free education policy on the teaching profession.

The introduction of free and compulsory education in South Sudan was a progressive and well-intended decision aimed at improving access to learning. However, its implementation without sustainable financing, institutional preparedness, and teacher-centered strategies has severely undermined the very foundation of our education system.

Across the country, and especially in states such as Warrap, public schools are struggling to function. Teachers remain underpaid, irregularly pay or remunerated, and professionally neglected. Schools lack basic learning materials, maintenance support, and structured development plans. As a result, qualified and experienced teachers are steadily leaving the profession for NGOs, private institutions, or alternative livelihoods, creating a dangerous brain drain in education sector.

At the time this policy was adopted, fundamental questions should have guided its rollout:

1. How would schools be sustainably financed and maintained?

2. What incentives would retain qualified teachers?

3. How would teacher dignity, motivation, and professional growth be protected?

4. What accountability mechanisms would ensure quality alongside access?

Regrettably, these considerations were either insufficiently addressed or ignored altogether.

Free education without investment in teachers is not empowerment. It is an institutional erosion. A system that fails to care for its educators cannot deliver quality learning outcomes to its children.

I respectfully urge the Ministry to reassess the free education policy, not by abolishing it, but by reforming it through realistic financing, teacher-centered reforms, and strong implementation frameworks.

Please make references to Rwanda Education System, and find how capitation grants are used to fund education both public and private sector.

Yours sincerely,
A concerned education stakeholder
Chol Machok Augustine Magak

Copy ~ Tonj Times ~ Tonj Leads Media

10/12/2025

If you need a stable and a prosperous Nation

Sow a seed of:

1. Responsive Leadership
2. Responsible Accountability
3. Transparent Governance
4. Strong and unshakable laws

When these foundations are strongly planted,
The country will live in harmony, Unity and Peaceful Coexistence

Copy: Tonj Leads Media
Copy: Tonj Times

02/12/2025

Every step has an impact on someone who genuinely aspire for growth and development. Obtaining a basics knowledge in STATA software training is great opportunity for me.

Thank you Dr. Ting and UNDP team for this initiative. Now, I have the foundation for next step. I greatly acknowledged and appreciated the chance given to me.

I am truly grateful toward your commitment in shaping the human resource for South Sudan. Keep up the good work.

25/11/2025

Dear Hon. Ateny Wek Ateny,

I write to you with deep concern on behalf of the already over-exploited citizens who continue to suffer under the current practices of telecommunication companies operating in our country. As a leader entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding public interest, your intervention at this critical time is both necessary and urgent.

Honourable Ateny, you are well aware of the excessively high tariffs being imposed on our people, tariffs that strain families, limit economic opportunities for young people, and undermine our national progress. What makes the situation even more distressing is that, these burdensome charges do not translate into any direct or indirect benefit for the government or the citizens. Instead, ordinary South Sudanese continue to bear the full weight of costs that are neither regulated nor justified by improved service delivery.

If in the good cause, we have the right to support the government as citizens, Uganda set a very exemplary, Uganda is getting services from Telecommunications.

As our people depend on communication services for business, emergency support, community engagement, education, and maintaining family connections across the country and the region. When tariffs are unfairly inflated, it becomes not only an economic burden but a direct barrier to social well-being, security, and development. A nation cannot prosper when its citizens are unable to afford the basic means of communication.

For this reason, I appeal to your leadership and integrity on behalf of the people of South Sudan to initiate a comprehensive review and reform of the telecommunications sector. We trust that under your guidance, the Ministry of Information, Telecommunications and Postal service will:

1. Ensure that tariffs are fair, affordable, and transparent to all users

2. Strengthen regulatory oversight to prevent exploitation of your people.

3. Promote competition that benefits citizens

4. Guarantee that both government and the public gain from telecommunications operations; and

5. Protect consumers from unjustified charges and poor service quality, MTN lead in high charges and less time.

Your timely action will restore hope to many South Sudanese who feel unheard and unprotected in the face of corporate exploitation. We believe you have the capacity, the authority, and the patriotic commitment to stand with the people and push for a communication sector that truly serves the nation.

With great respect, I look forward to seeing reforms that prioritize citizens and uphold the values of justice, fairness, and accountability.

By
Chol Machok Augustine Magak

Copy Tonj Times | Tonj Leads Media

24/11/2025

22/11/2025

Congratulations Gore Anthony, the renowned journalist of the country

22/11/2025

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO TONJ NORTH GRADUANDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JUBA – CLASS OF 2025

Dear Tonj North Sons and Daughters,

Today, you stand tall among the achievers. As you graduate from the University of Juba, you carry with you not only certificates, but the honour of your families, the pride of our communities, and the hope of a people who believe that education is the most powerful weapon toward a better tomorrow. Congratulations on this remarkable accomplishment.

Your success is a victory for Tonj North and a Greater Tonj region that has endured countless trials yet continues to rise with resilience. As you celebrate today, I ask you to look beyond the joy of this moment and reflect on the reality our communities face. Greater Tonj continues to struggle with insecurity, poverty, poor infrastructure, and limited opportunities for young people. Many of our brothers and sisters are caught in cycles of violence, while families remain torn apart by conflicts that should have never continued this long.

The job market ahead of you is not easy. South Sudan’s economic landscape is tough, competitive, and often discouraging for fresh graduates. But remember: challenges are not roadblocks, they are invitations to rise above the ordinary. You must be proactive, creative, and determined. Seek skills, seek opportunities, build networks, volunteer, and keep learning. Do not let the difficulty of securing jobs discourage you. Let it push you into innovation and leadership.

Your generation carries the responsibility to change the narrative about Tonj North. For too long, we have been defined by conflict instead of potential, by suffering instead of strength. You have the education, the exposure, and the capacity to rewrite our story. Be ambassadors of peace, unity, and development. Wherever you go, whether in government, private sector, NGOs, or entrepreneurship, please carry with you the spirit of service and transformation.

Our communities need your voices, your ideas, your professionalism, and your courage. Promote dialogue where there is division. Promote development where there is stagnation. Promote peace where there is hatred. Bring home the knowledge you have acquired and contribute meaningfully to the peaceful coexistence of Greater Tonj and Warrap State. Healing and progress begin with each of us.

As you step into the world, remember that you are not just graduates, you are the future pillars of Tonj North and that of GT. Walk with humility, lead with integrity, and dream with purpose. Let this achievement be the beginning of a lifetime of service, leadership, and impact.

Once again, congratulations to all the Tonj North, GT, Warrap and South Sudan Graduands of 2025. May your journey ahead be blessed, and may you shine wherever you go.

Your brother,
Chol Machok Augustine Magak