Yida Education Update - August 2021
In 2015, Operation Broken Silence began funding four Nuba teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. They were giving lessons underneath a tree with a single, broken chalkboard.
With your support, their small effort has blossomed into the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools. You empower 24 Nuba teachers here. They run the show —not us— and oversee 1,400 students in their classrooms every week.
Endure Primary is one of the top performing schools in the region and a treasured possession of the Nuba community. More than 6,000 children have been served by the school to date. Renewal Secondary began a multi-year phased opening in 2019 and has already shown great promise.
One of the largest demographics in Yida is children under the age of 16. The teachers’ vision has always been to ensure that every single child in Yida has the opportunity to attain a quality education.
Student Spotlight
Dowa was only three years old when her mother brought her to Yida Refugee Camp. She doesn’t really remember life before then. The government of Sudan bombed their village in the Nuba Mountains. Her father —a farmer— headed to the frontlines. Dowa’s mother set out on the nine day journey to Yida across the border.
That was seven years ago. Although Sudan’s long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019, many of his henchmen sit atop the new transitional government. A fragile ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains is holding, but Dowa’s mother isn’t returning until a peace agreement is finalized. She says:
“The government has always hated us. They try to kill us even when they say they want the shooting to stop. We can’t go back until the generals have proven they have changed or until they are gone.”
Thankfully, Yida is a relatively safe place. Dowa is a student at the Endure Primary School, a place that feels like home to her. Here, she not only learns something new every week, but also gets to play with friends and talk about their country’s future. She says:
"Sometimes it feels like all of us here are waiting. Waiting for peace. Waiting to return home. Waiting for powerful people to decide our future. But here at school, we learn that we have power and can be the generation who brings change. We’re encouraged to talk about who we want to be when we finally go home.
I think this gives my mother hope. She only knows war. She never went to school. When she sees me learning and playing with friends, it gives her joy.”
National Exam Results
In May, we reported that national exam results had been delayed due to school closures brought on by COVID-19. Teachers and students were still optimistic about their success despite a tough season.
Results are finally in for Endure Primary and they’re the best yet. 99.9% of students passed their national exams! Only one student failed after missing school for three months due to unique family needs. One of the teachers is working to get her caught up now.
We are still waiting on test results for Renewal Secondary. Our Nuba education partner in Yida is expecting those any day now.
New Teachers
The larger and positive changes in how Sudan is governed are finally being felt in the Nuba Mountains just across the border. Security in some frontline areas is still erratic, but much of the region remains quiet. There is increased movement between areas controlled by the Sudanese government and Nuba self-defense forces. And some refugees in Yida are now trying to return home.
A handful of teachers from Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary recently headed back to their villages in the Nuba Mountains. One of the teachers hadn’t been back since 2014 and their departure was bittersweet. Our education partner was able to replace them quickly with virtually no disruption for the students.
For now, it appears quite a few people have no plans to leave Yida. Our education partner has always expected that —one day— Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary will need to be relocated into the Nuba Mountains. At this moment, that day isn’t today.
Classroom Conditions
Over the past three years, we’ve worked with our education partner to improve classroom infrastructure at Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary. Thunderstorms were repeatedly damaging classrooms and forcing expensive repairs. By early 2020, all classrooms had received significant weatherproofing and strengthened roofs.
Last update, we reported that an unusually bad thunderstorm had caused minor damage to two classrooms at Renewal Secondary and tore the roof off of another. Thanks to your fundraising and giving, the damage was repaired and classes resumed.
Another strong thunderstorm recently rolled through the camp and severely damaged two classrooms at Endure Primary. The classrooms remain closed for now, with a temporary open-air covering being used in their place.
This obviously isn’t the best news, but it’s worth noting that previous upgrades continue to prevent even more extensive damage. Stronger thunderstorms like these in the past were regularly damaging over half the classrooms. The strengthened roofing and additional weatherproofing has led to a roughly 60% reduction in maintenance costs. More importantly, this means far less time spent missing class for students.
Funding & Morale
The new semester began at the end of February. Teacher and student morale is high at the moment, although there is still a bit or tiredness in the staff. Less funding in 2020 —due to the economic fallout of the disease— took a toll here just like it did elsewhere in the world.
Fundraising for the teachers and students continues to improve. Our supporters have restored 40% of the funding the schools lost last year. There are also some maintenance and textbook needs delayed last Fall that can no longer be ignored. We need your help to raise an immediate $5,525 for the following special projects:
$3,900 for classroom repairs, including replacement roofing from severe storm damage and some other minor upkeep.
$1,625 for textbook printing. After years of unfulfilled promises to deliver textbooks from the national education ministry, our education partner has secured a printer and binder and is moving forward with making their own.
There’s still a long road ahead, but we’re trending in the right direction. Read on to learn how you can help us continue making progress.
Get Involved
Operation Broken Silence is still the only nonprofit in the world funding community-led education efforts in Yida. Without Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary, the entire education system here would collapse.
There are three ways you can help. You can start a campaign and ask friends and family to give, setup a small monthly recurring donation, or make a generous one-time gift.
Additional ways to support:
Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence, write Education in the memo line, and mail to P.O. Box 770900 Memphis, TN, 38177-0900
About Nuba
The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived here for over 2,000 years.
The roughly 1.3 million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live mostly 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. 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 funder of education efforts in Yida Refugee Camp. Your generous support is essential for the teachers. Learn more about our mission here.
