Nuba Education Update - December 2023
In 2015, Operation Broken Silence began funding four Sudanese teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. They were giving lessons underneath a tree with a broken chalkboard. They had no textbooks, paper, pencils…nothing.
With your support, their small but brave effort has blossomed into the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools. 24 Nuba teachers and a headmaster work here every day. They run the show, not us, and serve 1,157 students in their classrooms every week. Endure Primary is the top performing elementary school in the region and a treasured possession of the Nuba community. Renewal Secondary is the only fully-functioning high school in Yida. More than 10,000 children have been served by the school to date.
Operation Broken Silence is the only organization in the world supporting childhood education in Yida Refugee Camp. Beyond these schools, we support Yida’s only other secondary school, a national exam preparation program for all primary students in Yida, and deliver a limited amount of classroom supplies to the eight other schools in the camp.
Nasrah’s Story
Nasrah was born in the Nuba Mountains. Her family arrived in Yida almost 9 years ago after the Sudanese government attacked their village. She barely remembers her home, saying:
“We did not have clean water or a school near to us at home. When the Antonov (regime plane) came and dropped bombs on us we ran and my mother brought us here to Yida.”
Humanitarian conditions in Yida were rapidly improving when they arrived. Nasrah’s mom was surprised to find clean water easily accessible and multiple schools for Nasrah and her brother.
“My mother still talks about how strange it is that life is usually easier here than it was for us at home. I know she wants to go back to our land, but she does not feel secure now that there is another war.”
Like most families in Yida, they hope to return one day to their homes in the Nuba Mountains. Until then Nasrah is enrolled at the Renewal Secondary School, which is funded entirely by people just like you. Her teachers and friends provide a sense of hope in this time of great upheaval in Sudan. She says:
“Yida is home because my people and family are here. My mother and her friends talk about how much Sudan needs new leaders who care about us. At school my teachers tell us we are the future leaders and that we can end the wars one day. I have learned to read and write from them and have good grades, but having teachers and people on the other side of the world who believe in me is what I will always carry with me from this place. Thank you for joining my people’s struggles. I don’t know what would have happened to us without our teachers and all of you who hear my voice.”
Recent Updates
Schools In Yida. It’s been a bittersweet year as refugee families once again begin trickling into Yida. Children displaced by the new war in Sudan have been warmly welcomed at the schools, but the reality of the world’s most dangerous armed conflict and worst humanitarian catastrophe weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone.
Thankfully, the teachers you support are uniquely positioned to help. Attendance at Endure Primary has climbed from almost 500 students daily before the war up to 720. Daily attendance has surged nearly 70% to 437 students at Renewal Secondary. Families continue trickling into Yida and are seeking to enroll their children at both schools. The teachers have informed us they still have some breathing room; but, if education needs keep climbing as we expect, both schools will likely be at maximum capacity by Summer 2024.
Photo: Renewal Secondary students celebrate their school achieving first place in national exams. (Operation Broken Silence)
Another round of national exams were conducted in August. Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary remained the top-performing schools in the region just as they have the past several years. And a record 43 out of the 45 students who took the Grade 8 national exam passed and are now enrolling at Renewal Secondary! A perfect score is 400 points and the five top-performing students were Yesmin Khamis Hassan (368.2), Makabula Peter Abdu (354.3), Amin Luke Nadir (353.4), Emmanuel Abdu Abdurahaman (352.5), and Sabri Andraws Junub (350). Congratulations!
Earlier this year, repairs and infrastructure upgrades were completed in most classrooms at both schools. This included more weatherproofing, new roofs and over 4,500 new bricks for replacement walls. Additional materials and backup tarps are also in storage for future repairs. This was made possible with some extra giving from our donors and is already paying dividends. With costs of most supplies skyrocketing from the war, these completed upgrades have kept classrooms in good shape at a time when extra financial support for this type of critical work is difficult to come by.
Photo: Children playing in Yida Refugee Camp at the end of a school day. (Operation Broken Silence)
Broader Education Support In Yida. Endure Primary School continues serving as the central national exam preparation facility for primary students in Yida. The camp’s eight other primary schools receive support and resources annually from our teachers for student test prep. This ancillary program positively impacted 1,458 additional students this year!
Vision Secondary, the only other high school in Yida, remains afloat with help from our teachers. The school was founded several years ago with pledges of support from outside nonprofits and churches, none of which materialized. This is one chapter in a long history of unfulfilled promises to the Nuba people that our education partner is having to mitigate. The teachers at Vision are all untrained, so a handful of the teachers at Renewal Secondary have stepped in to help teach science and provide guidance and crash course training.
Our Nuba education partner continues delivering a limited amount of basic supplies to Yida’s other primary schools, most of which operate with little to no outside support. Chalk, paper, pencils and notebooks remain the most requested items. These deliveries are critical to sustaining Yida’s already fragile education system, but are becoming more difficult to pull off due to rising prices brought on by the war.
We’re working with these incredible teachers to carry the mission forward, but we need your help.
How You Can Help
2023 has been a difficult and remarkable year in Sudan. Difficult in that the regime’s civil war has inflicted unprecedented death and destruction on the Sudanese people. Remarkable in that we’ve seen more bravery, love and grit in our Sudanese partners than ever before.
Funding for the schools remains an uphill battle due to rising costs from the war. The teachers are also receiving fewer donations due to internationally-minded donors moving their focus to the wars in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, despite the humanitarian crisis in Sudan being the worst in the world. The result is that our Nuba education partner is running on roughly 60% of the funding they need to provide a more holistic education experience for Sudan’s next generation of leaders.
The good news is that you can help them overcome these challenges. Your generosity will help our teachers and students make progress against the odds:
$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary for one semester.
$1,000: Support one teacher for an entire semester.
$750: Deliver three new chalkboards to classrooms.
$500: Give additional materials and extra pay to teachers who are working with students to prepare them for national exams.
$250: Provide for maintenance needs in classrooms.
$100: Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.
$50: Give soccer balls and other sporting equipment to students.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Other Ways To Give
Checks - Personal checks and grants from DAFs can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Stocks and Mutual Funds - Use this giving form to donate stock. To give from a mutual fund, download our Investment Fund Transfer Form and follow the instructions. Please note that all stock and mutual fund donations are nonrefundable.
Cryptocurrency - Use this giving form to donate crypto. Please note that all crypto donations are nonrefundable.
Fundraise - Start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give! These last few days of the year are the perfect time to fundraise.
Give Monthly - The Renewal is our passionate family of monthly givers supporting Sudanese heroes. Sign up here.
