Learning will never be suspended again

Blue Nile state-Visitors to Damazin and its environs will notice tiny huts roofed with straws and dry twigs dotted all over the landscape. The huts, locally known as Kornocks are a common fixture in Blue Nile state and other parts of rural Sudan.

Such huts are popular among the ordinary Sudanese because the cost of putting them up is cheap. Family members simply combine efforts and build the huts hence no need for hiring laborers. Furthermore, the building materials are affordable and locally available.

Kornocks are not only shelters for housing families but also learning centres for school children. With no funds to construct proper learning facilities, school children flock the Kornocks to receive basic education. During summer, the shelters get extremely hot and congested and worse still during the rainy season they often get flooded.

World Vision is working alongside the State Government of Blue Nile, local NGOs as implementing partners and UN agencies to improve the learning environment particularly for vulnerable children affected by disasters. This is through the Education in Emergency project.

Bidour Girls is one of the schools that has remarkably benefited from the project. Previously the school was a series of Kornocks. Nearly 60 girls crowded the three-by-three feet tiny structure to be taught. Besides overcrowding, they had to contend with flooding when it rained.

“Every rainy season we would be forced to suspend learning for three to four days because the learning shelters would become flooded,” recalls Ms Ikhlas Mohammed Khamis, the school principal. “After the rains, we would have to waste even more time renovating the shelters, this terribly disrupted learning,” she says.

World Vision has supported the construction of four classrooms and two offices. Ms Khamis says the project has significantly improved the learning environment in her school. This has also boosted morale and attracted many children to the school.

Through awareness creation as a major component of the project, parents are more aware and empowered on the importance of quality education. This is clearly demonstrated by the sudden desire of parents to enroll their children to school.

Besides construction, World Vision has equipped the school with sitting desks and stools benefitting a total of 543 girls. The girls also received stationery and play materials that encourage them to explore their creativity. They recently created beautiful models representing famous national and international landmarks and artificial flowers using the play materials provided to them. 

Eleven-year-old Sabreen Ibrahim, a student in sixth grade is one of the girls making good use of the play materials.  She was able to display her talent when she made a bouquet of artificial flowers from cellophane. Sabreen gifted the flowers to her principal who proudly displays them on her desk for all to see.

Sabreen is multi-talented. "I love spending time at school, because other than classes I find ample time to improve my hobby which is painting, under the supervision of my Arts teacher,” Sabreen says.

Between 2014 and 2015 World Vision supported with the construction of 12 classrooms, six offices and four VIP latrines in four government schools. The schools were also provided with furniture.

A total of 227 teachers and parents under the umbrella of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) have been adequately trained to ensure continuity of the project after World Vision transitions.

This project is funded by Irish Aid and targets four localities with a total of 18,600 beneficiaries, a majority of them, children.

Gamal Ghallab, communications officer for World Vision Sudan