Nuba Education Update - October 2022
In 2015, Operation Broken Silence began funding four Sudanese teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. They were giving lessons underneath a tree with a half of a broken chalkboard.
Their small, but bold effort blossomed into the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools thanks to your support. 24 Nuba teachers work here every day —supported by an additional 6 staff— and they run the show, not us. Over 900 students are currently in their classrooms every week. Endure Primary is the top performing elementary school in the region and a treasured possession of the Nuba community. More than 8,500 children have been served by the school to date. Renewal Secondary is nearing the end of a successful three-year phased opening that began in 2019.
Beyond these schools, Operation Broken Silence supports Yida’s only other secondary school, a national exam preparation program for all primary school students at other schools in Yida, and has begun delivering classroom supplies directly into the Nuba Mountains. It’s been a busy, but fruitful year.
One of the largest demographics in the Nuba Mountains and Yida Refugee Camp are children under the age of 16. Our Nuba education partner’s vision has always been to ensure that more children have the opportunity to attain a quality education.
Amir’s Story
Amir was born in the Nuba Mountains roughly a year before the war started. His family arrived in Yida in 2012 after the Sudanese government bombed their community. Amir doesn’t remember his village because he was so young when his family was forced to flee.
Yida has always been Amir’s home. Today, he is enrolled at the Endure Primary School, a place he loves. He says:
“Our teachers arrive at sunrise every day to prepare their lessons. Mostly they stay long after we leave until the sun goes down. They never give up. We would be lost without them. When I was struggling in my math, two of my teachers spent an hour with me after school every day for two weeks to help me.”
Amir’s family is talking about returning home because of the ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains. It will be a bittersweet moment when that day comes, as Amir yearns to see his family’s land but feels at home in Yida.
“I know that I am not meant to stay here in Yida forever. The time will come when I leave. But school is important now. I say thank you to all the people around the world who give us school supplies and support our teachers. I would not be here today without all of them.”
Recent News
Schools In Yida. It’s been a bittersweet year as many families are departing Yida and returning to their villages in the Nuba Mountains. Attendance at Endure Primary has remained at roughly 650 students daily throughout the year, while Renewal Secondary has risen to 260 students daily.
National exams were conducted in August. Out of the 500 students who sat in for testing, 412 passed with room to spare. English comprehension, specifically writing, was the primary struggle for the students who did not pass. This was in large part due to newer students who entered our classrooms throughout the year to replace those returning to the Nuba Mountains. The teachers are currently examining ways to provide additional support to these new students so they can advance during the next round.
Repairs were recently completed in classrooms that needed extra support. This included more weatherproofing, new roofs, and mended walls. This was made possible with some extra giving from our donors. The teachers and students thank you!
In early September, the teachers at Renewal Secondary held another health awareness workshop for students. This workshop was accompanied by the construction of an additional latrine at the schools and covered basic sanitation practices.
Photos: Classroom repairs in Yida Refugee Camp.
Broader Education Support In Yida. After years of financial struggles, the only other secondary school in Yida remains afloat with our support. Vision Secondary School was founded several years ago with pledges of support from other outside nonprofits and churches, none of which materialized. Sadly, there’s a long history of unfulfilled promises to the Nuba people. This isn’t the first mess created by others that Operation Broken Silence and our Nuba education partner has had to help clean up.
Some of the teachers we support at Renewal Secondary continue serving in classrooms at Vision to keep the school afloat. Since most of our teachers specialize in certain areas, they are bouncing back and forth between both schools to fill gaps left behind by Vision’s unpaid teachers, most of whom have now departed. Additional funding for Vision is practically non-existent, but the temporary assistance we are providing continues to bring some much needed stability to students there.
Endure Primary School continues to serve as the central national exam preparation facility for primary students in Yida. The camp’s eight additional primary schools receive support and resources annually for student test prep. This ancillary program has positively impacted an estimated 1,400 students this year!
Photos: Health awareness workshop and toilet construction at Renewal Secondary.
Classroom Supply Delivery To Nuba. Operation Broken Silence recently began sending a limited amount of school supplies to the new Tabulla Primary School in the Nuba Mountains. This is one of the villages that will also benefit from the water project we are currently fundraising for. To date, a number of items have been delivered including books, chalk, sporting equipment, and other basic supplies like pencils and paper.
Challenges. For those of you familiar with these updates, you know that we don’t shy away from sharing the challenges our Nuba education partner faces. While this has been a very successful year in all aspects of the education program, there are two long-term challenges that have led to some frustration for both of us.
First, it is common to find students of various ages in all grade levels at the schools in Yida. School openings and closings brought on by the war over the past 10 years have severely disrupted the childhood education experience. Today, children are placed in classrooms based on previous academic experience and need, not by age. While this leads to much better educational outcomes for students, it layers in some complexities with regards to national testing preparations and styles of teaching. This is a challenge largely outside of our control and will persist for years to come, but our Nuba education partner and the teachers are determined to find ways to meet this hard reality head on.
Second, fundraising for the teachers and students has slowly improved throughout the year, but most of these gains have been a wash due to global inflation. Rising costs coupled to smaller donations sizes means our Nuba education partner is running on roughly 80% of the funding the schools had in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability in the United States careened into our mission and movement. Unlike the above problem though, this is one that is solvable with your help.
Photo: Students at the Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp.
Get Involved
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are the only organization in the world supporting childhood education in Yida Refugee Camp.
Without the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools, the entire education system in Yida would collapse. Teachers and kids are able to create the conditions for their people to thrive when we support them and the additional educational programs of our Nuba partner. The fastest way to help is to make a quick one-time donation online, or setup a small monthly gift to help provide them the consistent support they need.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP
Start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give! These last few months of the year are the perfect time to fundraise.
Join The Renewal, our monthly giving family that never stops fighting for change.
Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence, write Education in the memo line, and mail to P.O. Box 770900 Memphis, TN, 38177-0900.
