Kids are kept in school by Common Humanitarian Fund

The sudden entry of children was overwhelming in schools around the border area when thousands of Sudanese families returned to White Nile State in Sudan from South Sudan in 2011, right after the two countries separated. The children from some of the most vulnerable areas were kept in class with the help of  the Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF);  managed by the OCHA. 

Many of these returing families are people forced by constant insecurity to settle in areas difficult to gain access to and where basic services, particularly education, are limited. More than 50,000 people, including about 20,000 children, have so far settled in White Nile State.

According to unocha.org, in 2012, Plan Sudan and War Child Holland received close to US$590,000 in CHF funding to support primary education in the White Nile localities of Eljabaleen and Elsalem where more than 6,000 returnee children need access to education. These projects helped in putting in place adequate educational facilities, increase teaching capacity of volunteer and professional educators, as well as  set up Parent Teacher Associations.

Mohamad Silia, a voluntary educator in Dabkaraya El Bahar village and one of those supported by the CHF-funded project according to OCHA report said the following; “We are very much aware of the importance of education for our future and our children’s future,” 

Because education is not always perceived as life saving, it is always a sector that is mostly neglected.  However, it is well appreciated by parents, but they need safe, secure schools, quality materials and well-trained teachers. 

Even though the disruption of education is affecting all children,  girls stand to be particularly at risk: as general insecurity exposes them to violence especially when commuting to and from school, not to forget parents may take them away from school to help with farming activities, earn money, or care for younger siblings.

Thanks to the CHF, which was established to not only provide fast, but also predictable funding in humanitarian emergencies.