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.
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.
“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.
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.
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 girls return to the classroom safely.
Orphan Pupils from the Elementary schools we support