The Impact of Recent Flooding on Education in Sudan and our Orphans Elementary Schooling Program
Above, photo from Middle East Monitor report, focusing on the longterm environmental challenges facing Sudan – https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200919-sudans-devastating-floods-will-happen-again-and-again-without-international-support/
Read more about flood damage prevention measures in https://theconversation.com/steps-sudan-must-take–to-prevent-future-flood-destruction-146117. We are hoping to incorporate some of these measures into the repairs of our orphans’ elementary schools if funding permits. More below.
Sudan’s Floods and the Impact on Education
Rebuilding Hope; Our Orphans’ Elementary Schools
This is a literacy post for Women’s Education Partnership.
Sudan’s Floods and the Impact on Education
Sudan’s Floods
This brief Aljazeera video report brings home the grinding daily realities of living with the aftermath of flooding –https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/2020/08/07/sudan-faces-disease-threats-after-floods-displace-hundreds/.
Read more in Sudan Floods Update
Flooding has brought more than material hardship to millions of Sudanese. The psychological impact has been profound as people battle to rebuild their homes and lives:
“..We are tired psychologically. We can hardly escape one dilemma before we get into a bigger one …….I do not think we will be able to resume studies even if our university was not affectedly the flood.” Muhammad Essam, a second-year undergraduate interviewed in Al-Fanar Media’s article, Sudan’s Floods Destroy Schools and Dreams, https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2020/09/sudans-floods-destroy-schools-and-dreams/
“Tension, sadness, anxiety and anger are all negative emotion that affect the student’s ability to comprehend lessons…..” Fatima Mohammad Abusan, professor of family science. Read the Al-Fanar article linked above to learn more about the impact of flooding on Sudan’s university students.
Many of our sponsored university undergraduates and their families have also been impacted by flooding. More on this on our social media shortly.
The Impact on Education
250,000 children estimated affected by flooding https://www.savethechildren.net/news/sudan-250000-children-impacted-flooding-nile-records-highest-water-levels-over-century
The odds against poor Sudanese children and young people receiving the education they need and deserve have always been stacked against them.
Recently, those odds appear almost insurmountable. With Sudan still reeling from two years of disruption to schooling and further education caused by recent political and economic upheavals, the impact of Covid-19 and its containment measures have proved devastating to Sudanese education. The poorest children – especially girls – are unlikely ever to return to education once their schooling is interrupted as parents, facing the worst food and fuel crises in recent history, are forced to make painful choices for their families. Then, just as lockdown eased and families began to look forward to returning to school, Sudan was hit by the worst flooding in decades, forcing the re-closure of schools and pushing back the start of term to mid November.
The Sudanese rarely complain but the unrelenting litany of misfortunes they have endured over recent months is taking its toll on people’s ability to cope and maintain hope in the future. They are exhausted and bereft of the most basic life resources.
“559 schools have been damaged, 51 schools are hosting displaced persons seeking shelter and 102,000 school children have been affected in Khartoum State.” – our Country Director, Mrs Neimat Issha, quoting latest Education Ministry forum data.
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/new-sudan-school-year-postponed-for-two-months
Many schools not suffering major damage have been given over to emergency shelter for evacuees unable to return to their homes. Lack of clean water, flooded and broken latrines, collapsed roofs and structural damage have made schools unsafe. School textbooks, chairs, desks and other school supplies have been destroyed. In many areas, flooding has gravely disrupted electricity supplies and those lucky enough to have online access for home study have had no internet service for several weeks. National school certificate exams have been delayed and many thousands have been unable to sit the exams or are unaccounted for.
This is a literacy post for Women’s Education Partnership.
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Our Supported Orphans and their Elementary Schools
Over the past month, our director, Neimat Issha, has been undertaking field visits to all the orphans’ elementary schools we support. These schools are community built and run and were desperately short of resources even before the floods struck. While some have mercifully escaped major damage, several have seen serious structural damage and one has lost its water supply.
See more on our Orphans Schooling Program in From Hardship to Hope Our Orphans Schooling Program
Below are some photos from a 4th September visit to just one of the ten schools we support – Amna Bint Wahab Elementary School. As you can see, there has been extensive damage to classroom roofs, walls, latrines and offices, making much of the premises unsafe. Like many schools, it has lost many of its desks, benches and teaching resources.
We are preparing to undertake both emergency and longterm repair work to our worst affected schools like Amna Bint Wahab and we will update you on our progress as soon as we can. We aim, funding permitting, to make repairs that will ensure our schools are more resilient to extreme weather events in the future and guarantee stability for our orphans in their schooling as the impact of climate change on Sudan intensifies.
Damage to Amna Bint Wahab Elementary School
You can make the repairs to this and our other damaged elementary schools possible. Please consider donating to us so we can carry out these vital repairs and help little boys and girls return to the classroom safely.
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Women's literacy in Sudan 