June 2020 Yida Education Update
In 2015, Operation Broken Silence began funding 4 Nuba teachers in Yida Refugee Camp who were giving lessons underneath a tree. With your support, their small effort has blossomed into the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools. Today, you support 24 Nuba teachers who work in these schools. They run the show, not us, and they oversee 1,300 students every week.
Endure Primary has become one of the top performing schools in the region and a treasured possession of the Nuba community in Yida. More than 3,000 children have been served by the school to date. Renewal Secondary began a three-year phased opening in 2019 and has already shown great promise.
It has been incredible to watch these teachers use the funding you provide to create a more just situation for the children of Yida. One of the largest demographics here is children under the age of 14. The vision has always been to ensure that every single child in Yida has the opportunity to attain a quality education at no financial cost to them.
Today, this vision is in jeopardy. The joy we have seen for years in the faces of teachers and students at Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary is at risk. And it comes at a time when education needs across Yida are skyrocketing.
Right now, Primary 8 and Secondary 4 classes are in early preparations for their national exams. These are the final grades in both schools before graduation. Endure Primary has achieved a 90%+ graduation rate over the last few years due to high testing scores, and this will be the first round of national exams for Renewal Secondary. In the coming months, testing preparation will only intensify as the teachers take on a more direct role in coaching their students.
In mid-May, the pressure on these 24 teachers mounted even more. Yida is home to several other schools that are not officially connected to our Nuba education partner. These schools have historically been poorly funded and receive essentially zero outside support today. Because Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary make up the backbone of the education system in Yida, the Nuba government formally requested that our education partner help support Primary 8 and Secondary 4 students from these other schools as they prepare for exams as well. Today, an additional 500+ students from schools across Yida are receiving testing support from our teachers at Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary.
Refugees from across Yida begin gathering for an end-of-semester ceremony at our schools in December 2019.
Testing is tentatively scheduled for primary students in November and secondary students in December. Students that fail these tests are required to start another year of studies before testing again. Those who pass get the great joy of moving forward in a ceremony that usually brings in thousands of refugees from across Yida.
This should be a time of focus, enthusiasm, and pride. We should be pouring more resources into the 24 teachers we support than ever before, because they are working harder than ever before to support more students than ever before.
Sadly, that is not happening.
Since March, 60% of the donations that these teachers rely on have been wiped out in the economic fallout of coronavirus pandemic. At a time when our teachers are being asked to do more for their community, they are receiving less support to get the job done. This means lower salaries, less school supplies, and a moratorium on building needed new classrooms. The momentum that has been building in the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary these past few years is being blunted, and it is the world’s most vulnerable children who will pay the price for it.
Ismail* is one such student preparing for his national exam. He says:
“I am very nervous. If I pass, I will be the first person in my family to complete primary school. My father is still fighting in the war across the border in the mountains. The last time I saw him was 2 years ago. He told me he was fighting so that I could get the education he was not allowed to have. I hope I can make him proud by graduating.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
If 150 people who are reading this start giving at least $10 a month, it will be just enough to sustain these teachers and students through the pandemic.
In March, Operation Broken Silence set out to recruit 200 new supporters who give at least $10 a month to meet these needs. We are now at 25% of our goal. This is progress, but it’s not nearly enough. Giving monthly is the best way to help. Please sign up right now. The futures of so many students just like Ismail depend on it.
If you are not in a position to give monthly, could you start a fundraising campaign or make a one-time donation? We cannot emphasize enough that every penny counts right.
*Name has been changed for safety reasons.
COVID-19 Update
There are no reported coronavirus cases in Yida Refugee Camp right now; however, the disease is spreading rapidly in Sudan and South Sudan.
While Yida is an isolated place, the likelihood of the pandemic reaching the area is growing. As the pandemic bears down on Yida, it is important that our teachers are not anxious about how they will support their families.
ABOUT NUBA
The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived there for over 2,000 years.
The one million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live in harmony together.
Sadly, the Nuba way of life has been in danger for decades. Sudan’s military and extremist regime officials have long viewed the Nuba people as a threat to their iron-fisted rule. The military and their extremist paramilitary allies have committed two genocides in the region since the 1990s.
Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a military coup in April 2019. Sudan now has a fledgling transitional government that is supposed to be moving the country toward civilian, democratic rule. This new government has not lifted the humanitarian blockade on the Nuba Mountains, nor has a permanent peace been achieved. A fragile ceasefire is in place right now, but war clouds still loom over the Nuba Mountains.
Operation Broken Silence focuses on the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp. We are the only organization in the world providing assistance to refugee teachers here. Your generous support is essential for teachers to get the resources they need. Learn more about our mission here.
