Eaglecrest High School Social Studies/AVID teacher Martha Riley traveled to Southern Sudan in March to conduct teacher workshops and check progress on EHS sister school Ayak Anguei Girls' Primary Boarding School. Here are her reflections.

The children are taller, the smiles are wider, the classes are larger, the villages are bigger and, if possible, I am even happier to be in Sudan than when I came for the first time a year ago. Southern Sudan is even more breathtaking this time around. What I experienced in the villages of Konbek and Maar last year was incredible. What I feel now as I return to see the people and the progress is almost indescribable. How to capture the essence of my experience? Maybe by sharing my feelings with you . . .

Throughout my visit, I've felt:

• Pride as I watched boys in Konbek playing soccer wearing Eaglecrest High School uniforms donated by our boys' soccer team, children playing chess using games provided by the EHS chess club, and girls playing volleyball with the balls the EHS volleyball team sent for them.

• Wonder as I saw the progress made on our sister school compound: the addition of latrines, shower stalls, classrooms, and new huts.

• Joy as a plethora of clay animals appeared in front of us as child after child brought us their handiwork, wide grins on their faces.

• Poignancy when Mary, a 15-year old who began attending school just three years ago, told me that happiness for her is when someone else grinds the grain so she can read.

• Satisfaction as I saw the gleam of understanding and joy as the teachers at our workshops grasped the strategies we were presenting and recognized their value in education.

• Despair as so many brilliant teachers and students spoke of the need for scholarships for further education which are not available in southern Sudan.

• Wonder as, at our women's workshop, I guided a woman's hand while she wrote her numbers for the first time.

• Triumph as two girls, released from their chores for a little while, came to ask me to intervene so they could play volleyball with the boys-and the boys agreed.

• Connection as children walked along with me everywhere, holding hands with me.

Yes, there were scorpions-lots of them-and an eight-foot cobra; mud huts with roofs caving in and, for a few days, 120° heat; and goats and cows everywhere. But the raw nature of it appeals to me. Luckily, I've stayed healthy, and this trip has been easy for me. I need to remind myself that regular daily life in Sudan is very different and difficult-grueling, actually. It is very humbling to hear people say that they want their daughters to be like me-namely, educated and independent. They certainly have the capabilities; they simply haven't had the opportunities. Project Education Sudan is working hard to provide those opportunities, and I can see the people's hope and determination grow every time I'm here.

This year I've traveled to Sudan wondering if this might be my last trip. No way. I will find the means to come again and again. It's that important.

Note: Funds for schools built by Project Education Sudan are gained primarily through donations. If you would like to help purchase building materials or school supplies for the girls' school in Konbek, donations can be submitted to Project Education Sudan, P.O Box 6851, Denver, Colorado 80206-6851. All donations are tax-deductible. For more information, visit www.projecteducationsudan.org.