Pillars of Hope: Two Committed Educators Reconstructing Futures in Chummedi
How two teachers are creating safe spaces for learning, healing and hope for children displaced by conflict in Renk County, South Sudan
At an early childhood education centre in South Sudan, head teacher Umkaltom Abaker Osman starts each day with quiet purpose. As a returnee from Sudan, less than 50 kms to the north, she understands how conflict impacts children. “I greet my students with reverence because I believe that young children carry open minds and receptive hearts. They need urgent emotional and intellectual nurturing before the scars of displacement harden” Osman reflects.
"Teaching for me is a sacred calling and a noble service—it is essential for preventing our children from becoming a lost generation,” says Osman.
At Chummedi South Primary School, in Renk County, classrooms Iike Osman’s serve as vital lifelines, offering protection, healing, and a sense of belonging to thousands of children displaced by Sudan's conflict in the north.
With support from UNICEF and the Republic of Korea (RoK) through implementing partner Community in Need Aid (CINA), Osman started as a teacher volunteer. She has now completed practical training in child-centered pedagogy and mental health and psychosocial support.
She leads a team of eight teachers, maintaining daily routines despite crowded conditions and limited resources. Her commitment extends to the wider community, where she often prepares meals for local gatherings and weddings, enhancing trust between returnees from Sudan and the host community.
UNICEF works with the Ministry of General Education and Instruction at national and state levels to support inclusive and equitable access to quality education for children and communities affected by emergencies and protracted crises.
The Education in Emergencies programme, funded by the RoK, is running from April to November 2026 in Renk County, providing learning opportunities for almost 5000 children, including 2,360 girls, across eight formal and non-formal centres, supported by 89 teachers who help maintain stability in these communities. The programme pays them a small stipend which helps provide a reliable workforce.
Across the courtyard from Osman’s classroom, Sadam Adam Abaker brings the same unwavering dedication to his students. Abaker, a refugee from Sudan who escaped the war, has experienced the hardships of displacement—settling in an unfamiliar area, creating a workable learning environment, and running a small business to support himself. As a communications graduate, he utilized his skills to engage with the local community, gaining their trust and support to establish safe learning spaces for girls and boys.
"The respect I garner as a teacher here means more than money. When students are in the classroom today, we safeguard their future—both girls and boys equally deserve the opportunity to reshape their lives,” says Abaker.
In a school where over 70 per cent of the staff are refugees, Abaker volunteers as an unpaid, bilingual teacher fluent in Arabic and English. When the teacher development sessions started under the project, he led the effort to rally other volunteers to attend training on pedagogy, mental health, and child safeguarding.
In addition to teaching in the mornings, he supports the parent teacher association with operational issues, promotes enrollment campaigns, and oversees help desks at the school that provide a safe and confidential place for children to report any safety concerns or distress. Teachers can then assess and identify further child protection referrals if needed.
Although the dedication of these teachers sustains hope, educational institutions in Renk County continue to endure significant shortages of safe and protective spaces, teaching and learning supplies and consistent teacher incentives. Ongoing conflict and displacement imposes persistent stress on border communities, emphasizing the critical need for multi-year funding.
This World Teachers’ Day, as we honour the courage of educators operating in crisis zones, UNICEF urges international donors and humanitarian partners to increase flexible funding, focus on educator well-being, and guarantee that all children affected by crises in South Sudan retain their right to education. Whoever and wherever they are.
The Republic of Korea is supporting UNICEF to deliver emergency assistance across South Sudan, providing education services, nutrition, clean water and sanitation and child protection
