In 2005 St Francis Church, Salisbury undertake to renovate their own church and pledge £40,000 to be seed money for a project in South Sudan. The Sudanese Archbishop had asked for help to build a church secondary school in Juba, where the church was already running 10 primary schools. The challenge was accepted and in April 2007 the school opened its doors to its first intake of students.
Generous giving by the people of Salisbury, private individuals and Christian Charities has enabled the construction of classroom blocks, (in time for the new intake of students each year), together with a Science laboratory (2011) a Girls Boarding House (2013 and a boys toilet block (2014). On 27 March 2015 a 2-storey building was opened providing 3 new classrooms and another staff room for the teachers. There is an urgent need for 3 more classrooms and a computer room.
Each year over 25 students from needy homes have been sponsored by supporters in the UK, providing £150 p.a. for each of the four years of schooling. There are now over 100 sponsorship's at the School.
The School Sign at the Main gate includes the strap line: ‘Quality Education with Christian Values’. Christian values are all important at the school. At Daily Assembly it is students who lead worship and prayers, praying for their teachers, their School, their Country
The number of students at the School has increased year by year since the opening in 2007. In 2016 there are 750 students. It is expected the number will rise to 800, but no further. In line with school policy there are now 50% girls at JDMSS.
In the 2014 South Sudan Certificate of Education, (SSCE), 93 students took the exam, each having to pass in 7 subjects. And 44 of them secured averages over 80%. The highest score was 89.2% and the lowest a creditable 64.8%. The top10 students were well represented both subject-wise and by gender – five girls and five boys and 5 for each subject block – 3 girls for Arts and 2 for Science, 3 boys for Science and 2 for Arts. JDMSS was the top English-speaking school in the country. All credit must go to the Head Teacher, Deputy Head and all the teaching staff for their commitment and perseverance in what has been a difficult year.
Lavina Keji received a bursary as one of a number awarded by the Headmaster to children from poor families in Juba. In Lavina’s case, the bursary was paid for through a donation by a doctor in the UK. Lavina was a diligent student and passed her School Certificate with high grades. She went on to study at university in Cairo, where she graduated in nursing. Following the death of her mother, Lavina returned to Juba to look after her family and to work at the Juba Medical Clinic, where currently some Covid-19 patients are being treated. Lavina volunteered to work for a Christian Charity called ‘Samaritan’s Purse’ in a hospital they had set up in the north of South Sudan. Before leaving the medical centre in Juba to go there Lavina caught Covid 19. With the help of Samaritan’s Purse she recovered and duly went north to serve her Lord. Recently she has returned to a town near Juba to be closer to her family. She is working for another charity called ‘HealthCare’ in the operating theatre of their hospital.
