Bitter Sweet Success

I finally got to visit down to some schools that I have been working with after 6 months of not being able to travel on the road. It was so great to get out on the dusty Darfur roads again. We have had a strict vehicle travel ban for a long time so it was nice to bump along the roads to the Sudanese music that all sounds the same as we wave to everyone as we pass. It was also great to spend more time with some of my new staff and get to know them better.

I was able to see these schools before we brought in supplies and now I am seeing them after 6 months. I have been able to watch student numbers increase from my office in Nyala but it was great to actually see the success of our program with my own eyes. In this area which includes 17 schools, the total student numbers have increased from 6,200 to 6,800 in 6 months.


But as I was being all proud of my team and all the work that they have done our attention was brought to a school on the outskirts of the main town. This area has a group of IDP’s that fled their villages about three years ago and have permanently settled in the town. They are still a very poor population as they have to rent land to farm and find odd jobs in the town to supplement their income. Usually as people first flee an area they live in dome shelters that are covered with anything they can find that will protect them from the elements. Then as they are able to earn some money they build a hut or two for their family. Even after three years many people in this displaced community are still living in their dome shelters. They have a school where grades 1-3 are taught but the classrooms are simple shade shelters that hold up to 100 children in each small shelter. It broke my heart as we saw this community struggle to form some sort of existence and life with the very limited resources that they have. Often IDP’s are marginalized in the communities that host them. This is very evident in this town. All day I was discussing with teachers about their brick classrooms and how they need more permanent classrooms as students 5 minutes away were huddled under a small shelter to keep them out of the sun.

Now comes the best part of my job - I get to see these things and do something about it. We were able to leave some school supplies with one of the teachers and promised them that classrooms were on their way. His smile was the best that I have seen in a long time. It’s that smile of joy and relief that comes from surprises. So as I continue my final tour of my programs I will remember that no matter how far we have come in the last year, little schools like this have to keep pushing us forward.