How EUTF-UNICEF Partnership is bringing education to war-displaced children in Sudan

How EUTF-UNICEF Partnership is bringing education to war-displaced children in Sudan

"We were scared in Khartoum. We stayed for two months, then my mother decided we must come to Atbara." Twelve-year-old Nima, who fled with her family to Atbara in River Nile state, is one of over 5 million children forced by the war to flee their homes in what has become known as the world's largest child displacement crisis.

For over two years, Sudan's children have paid the heaviest price of conflict: violence, trauma, displacement, and the loss of their education.

In 2021, the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) began a partnership with UNICEF, launching the Integration and Mainstreaming of Refugee Children into the Sudanese Education System (IRCSES) project. Initially designed to integrate refugee children in specific states, the project was quickly adapted in 2023 to respond to the escalating war and the skyrocketing number of Sudanese children out of school. With generations at risk of losing their education due to displacement, teacher shortages, and a lack of safe learning spaces, €24.85 million was reallocated to integrate war-displaced children into safe schools.

According to the IOM, large numbers of those displaced in Sudan have sought refuge in regions such as South Darfur, Kassala, Gedaref, and River Nile states. The influx of families has placed enormous strain on resources, with schools exceeding capacity as hundreds of children from conflict areas seek to resume their education.

The war has also left schools with serious challenges from unpaid salaries for teachers, inadequate teacher training, unsafe learning environments and lack of essential learning materials due to disrupted supply chains. This resulted in severe shortages and overcrowded classrooms. The funding from EUTF was directed more specifically towards providing essential educational support and working with education officials and schools to support increasing their capacity to integrate vulnerable children into mainstream education.

In Atbara, River Nile, the story is no different. "There is now overcrowding in classrooms, and this makes it difficult to follow up with individual students." Says Fatma Abbas, teacher at Elshahid Osman Omer school for girls in Atbara, "classrooms were at 30-40 students, now this number has doubled or tripled in some instances." Yet this challenge has also spurred the new wave of support as headteacher Wisal Abdallah highlights the remarkable transformation: "The displaced students benefited the school. Because of them, for the first time in the history of River Nile state, we were supported by organisations to do our work." Wisal's school, Elshahid Osman Omer primary school for girls, is one of the schools that have benefited from the IRCSES project in Atbara.

This EUTF contribution has been instrumental in supporting UNICEF's efforts in reaching children through initiatives such as the provision of school supplies, enrolment campaigns, and the establishment of safe learning spaces. Since January 2023, UNICEF has established child-friendly learning spaces for over 230,000 children, thereby safeguarding their right to safe, quality education. Over 27,000 children also received learning materials, and over 144 teachers were trained in "Emergency in Education" techniques and core subjects, enhancing the quality of education being delivered to students. Teachers affected by the disrupted salaries were also supported financially to enable them to continue working.

Despite these challenges, teachers like Salma Mahgoub remain driven by a powerful sense of hope to continue: "When education is disrupted, everything is disrupted. But I am optimistic. By the grace of God, nothing will stop us. As long as we can just continue teaching."

It is through the resilience of Sudanese teachers and the dedication of organisations like UNICEF, committed to protecting the right to education, that a vital lifeline is offered to millions of children in Sudan, giving them a sense of stability and a hope for a better tomorrow.