Back to school, back to hope
Aya’s pursuit of learning during displacement
During an English lesson, 13-year-old Aya walks to the blackboard with confidence and, in no time, writes three sentences.
After being out of school for more than a year and a half, Aya takes pride in how far she has come. Not even an earlier failed test will deter her from achieving her dream of learning English and becoming a doctor one day.
Two years ago, when her life was disrupted by the conflict in Khartoum, Aya never imagined she would return to school- let alone continue learning English, her favorite subject. While the war has robbed many things from her, her love for education remains a beacon of hope for a better future.
The journey to the unknown
Aya and her family lived in Khartoum when the war began. But when bullets struck their neighbour’s house, they had no choice but to flee for safety.
“I was afraid, but my sister was more affected. She went into shock and couldn’t even speak for days.”
With only a few belongings- including the wet clothes they had just washed- the family embarked on a journey to the unknown, eventually arriving in Kassala after several hours on the road.
Leaving behind her childhood memories, including treasured family photo albums, fills Aya with sadness.
“I always wished that I could share my childhood photos with my children one day.” “I wish I had taken those albums with me.”
The sight of soldiers, the sound of gunshots, and the numerous check points terrified her the most. The rainy season made the journey even more dangerous, with thunder, lightning, and blurry vision on the road.
“I was so scared. I thought the soldiers would shoot us any moment. I feared we were going to die. They had guns.”
A new chapter in Kassala
In Kassala, the family has started a new life. Together with her siblings, Aya is forging ahead and has quickly made friends. However, the war left its mark- her father, a former cab driver, lost his livelihood, deeply affecting their well-being.
“Food was scarce. When my mother served breakfast, she always kept some leftovers for dinner,” Aya recalls of those first difficult days.
Access to a variety of foods was a luxury they couldn’t afford. Water was also a challenge. In Khartoum, clean water was readily available with the turn of a tap, but in Kassala, Aya and her siblings had to walk through the streets looking for donkey carts to buy water.
“Life was very hard”, she says. “Even harder because we were not going to school.”
The fear of never returning to school
While schools remained closed, Aya often worried she might never return to class. With little to do at home, her thoughts often gravitated towards the continued fighting with no end in sight and the significant impact on her family.
“The war is all I thought about,” she says. “The days were long, and I was always nervous.”
“Will I be able to go back to school?” she often asked her father.
Uncertain himself, his responses were never reassuring. “We will stay here for 15 days, then return home, and you will go back to school,” he would say.
But 15 days turned into 15 months, and later into a year and a half without school. Along with 17 million other children in Sudan, Aya remained home, part of one of the largest education crises in the world.
A teacher in the neighbourhood would later volunteer to help children, including Aya and her siblings, with catch-up lessons, but it wasn’t enough.
“We had no textbooks. My father couldn’t afford more than one exercise book for each of us, we used the few he bought sparingly,” she recalls.
Education is a lifeline for children growing up in conflict.
A new school, renewed hope
At Hai Alarab School for Girls which operated as Safe Learning Space (SLS) with support from Global Partnership for Education Accelerated Funding, while schools were closed, Aya found a second chance at education. When her parents learned that displaced children could enroll, they quickly signed up Aya and her sisters.
The SLS that once hosted 200 children before the war, now after school year started, has an enrolment of over 700 children, of whom, 278 are displaced.
The SLS has also benefited from grants provided by the GPE AF, which has helped integrate refugee and displaced children into the learning system.
Aisha Albukhari, the School Principal who supervised the SLS, confirms that the grants facilitated renovations of school buildings previously occupied by the displaced families, as well as repairs to school furniture before reopening.
The dedicated teachers and facilitators at the school, have received specialized training in child-centered teaching methods and life skills, critical for managing large classes. They also receive some incentives for their work.
GPE AF support has also provided learning materials, including exercise books, pencils, bags, geometry sets, chalk, teaching guides.
Aya has received all the education supplies she requires and ready to learn. Her favorite is the geometry set full of pencils and pens.
“The children here are so kind,” she says. “When I first arrived, the class was full, but they made space for me.”
Returning to school has not only created a sense of normalcy and a routine for the young girl but also supported her gradual healing from the dark and uncertain times. Every day, she looks forward to tomorrow.
Friendship and determination
With new friends - Aya and Eiman – the trio plays, studies, does homework, and talks about life.
“I like Aya because she is kind, always smiling, and I hope we remain friends even after the war,” she says. “She has helped me a lot.”
Aya is determined not only to improve her English but also catch up on all the other subjects. She believes that when girls are educated, they are more confident and can conquer the world. But this can only happen if they go to school and complete their education.
Today, Aya is happy to be back to learning but longs for the day she will return home and hopes that her childhood photos and new dress, a gift from her Auntie, will still be there because such memories cannot be replaced.
Thanks to GPE AF, more than 210,000 children like Aya are now able to continue their education in 575 schools and SLSs across Gedaref, Kassala, River Nile, and White Nile states, regaining a sense of normalcy and hope for a brighter future despite the challenges they have faced.
