A version of this blog was written by Suzanne Schultz Middleton, Five Talents US's Programme Director, and originally appeared on Five Talents USA's website.

80% of women in South Sudan missed out on education and are not literate, so it was not a surprise that in the community learning circle in Gorom, South Sudan, the three facilitators were all men.

A few years ago, Angelo, Pierensio, and Oliver were tasked with the creation and running of three circles of learners consisting of 32 women and 12 men. Their aim was simple: to improve basic literacy and numeracy. Incredibly, today, all 44 participants have been accredited as literate and numerate.

In 2012, the three literacy circles combined to form a single community Savings and Loan Association. The members voted to call this association "Light". The group has continued to flourish and is fortunate in receiving the support of a local chief, Charles, who has even joined the group himself.

Left to right: Community facilitators in Gorom, Angelo and Pierensio; Oliver and Charles in the Gorom community meeting; Arrival into Gorom.

Charles' membership demonstrates his support and endorsement. But he’s not just a passive member. In fact, Charles applied for and was granted a loan which he used to open a small shop to supplement his income from charcoal production. In the year following the loan, Charles earned four times the GNI per person for South Sudan. He gave half his profit to his wife to start a peanut paste business and the remainder is used to send each of his nine children to school.

As I was leaving the group, Oliver approached me, thanking us for bringing this training and for not bringing money. He said, "even 1 million SSP (£124,000) would be eaten but this knowledge will stay with us always".

This was powerful testimony to a programme that set out to transform the lives of women, their families, and their communities in South Sudan. We found women and men working together, sharing new knowledge and leadership roles to improve their ability to provide for their families.

At the end of the meeting I greeted the Pastor and thanked him for letting us meet in the church and for his support for the programme. He also wanted us to know that while he himself was blind, the Gospel was read every Sunday in the church by women from the literacy circles.

At the time of posting, South Sudan is experiencing a shaky ceasefire. Will you support Five Talents' financial inclusion and help move the country towards stability? Donate here.