Yida Education Update - May 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 5,000 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.
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 at no financial cost to them.
LATEST NEWS
In March, we reported that several cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the Nuba Mountains and Yida Refugee Camp. Those individuals were placed in isolation and no confirmed cases have been reported since.
Most activity in Yida occurs in outdoor spaces, and the camp is fairly spacious due to the rural setting. COVID-19 testing and surveillance capacity are severely limited though, so there is a chance the virus is spreading slowly through the community.
National Exams Complete, Results Delayed
All grades at both schools completed their national exams over the past few months. Testing had been repeatedly delayed due to on-and-off national school closures brought on by COVID-19.
The education ministry is now working through a large backlog of tests. Our Nuba education partner in Yida has not been given an estimated completion date. Teachers and students are optimistic about their success.
Classroom Damage
Over the past three years, we’ve worked with our education partner to improve infrastructure at both schools. Thunderstorms were repeatedly damaging classrooms and forcing expensive repairs. By early 2020, all classrooms had received significant weatherproofing and strengthened roofs.
An unusually bad thunderstorm swept over Yida in late March, testing these upgrades like never before. The good news is that most classrooms held up just fine. Two classrooms suffered very minor damage. Unfortunately, one of largest classrooms at Renewal Secondary was hit with a strong gust of wind that tore part of the roof off.
We need to raise an additional $1,500 to complete repairs. Give here or scroll down to learn more about giving.
New Semester Begins
Another round of classes began two weeks ago following a brief break. Due to a quieter situation across the border in the Nuba Mountains right now, quite a few students were able to return home to visit family. Teachers also had an opportunity to relax and spend time with their families.
Teacher and student morale is high at the moment, although there is still a bit or tiredness in the staff. It’s been a long 14 months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Extra precautions and less funding in 2020 —due to the economic fallout of the disease— took their toll here.
The good news is that fundraising is improving. We’ve already restored 30% of the funding the schools lost in 2020. There’s still a long road ahead, but we’re trending in the right direction.
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.
Individual donors and fundraisers from around the world fund these teachers and students. You can help by joining our movement:
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.
