The story of the child Wissam – a symbol of hope that challenges displacement and restores life to Sudan schools

Amid the whispers of her colleagues while they were sinking of their purposes, a nine -year -old was drowned in the world of her imagination, drawing a vibrant image. When she ended, her colored pens returned to her bag, with which she carries an inexhaustible hope, despite the cruelty of displacement that stormed millions of children.

Wissam says: “I left my play, my books, my school, my bag, and my pens. I was beautiful.”

The country faces the largest displacement crisis in the worldWhere there are more than 17 million children in school ages currently outside school walls. Hundreds of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war in Sudan in April 2023. Many other buildings are used as shelters for the displaced.

With the reopening of 489 schools, nearly 120,000 children returned to the classroom in the coastal state of the Red Sea. Continuing The Education Fund is not waiting for – It is the United Nations World Fund on Education and Emergency Crises – and partners like UNICEF support girls and boys across Sudan to ensure continued education even in the most difficult circumstances.

Wissam passed by difficulties and horrors to describe, as she and her family were forced to escape from their home in Sennar to seek safety in the city of Port Sudan on the eastern lines of Sudan, leaving behind almost all of their property, including school uniforms.

Bags for a brighter future

When schools were recently reopened in Port Sudan, the Wissam’s family could not bearing the costs of the necessary school supplies.

With every step that a medal and her siblings took towards their new school in Port Sudan, their passion for learning was renewed, but the shadows of displacement threw the burden of the lack of school supplies, which prevented their joy in returning to the study seats.

Fortunately, Wissam School is one of many schools in Sudan that receives vital school supplies thanks to the support of the Education Fund is not waiting. Through this initiative, which aims to ensure that all children get the tools they need to return to learning, the Order and its siblings received a new school uniform and backpacks full of tools such as notebooks, coloring pens, chalk and rulers.

On that, Wissam says: “I love my new bag. It is much larger than the bag you left at home.”

More than just a school bag

This new backpack means more than just books and school supplies for a medal. She carries her dreams with a brighter and peaceful future in her homeland that allows her to learn and grow and achieve its full potential.

Wissam is currently studying in the third grade, and she enthusiastically participates in the separation discussions and raises her hand with confidence to answer the questions. Her new uniform adds meaning to her feeling of pride and belonging.

But in the moments of her quiet isolation, in the midst of the chaos that surrounded her since the beginning of the war, a medal is vulnerable to life. After the end of the school day, a medal remains in the semester, immersed in its drawings. Colorful flowers, carefully drawn, are a testimony of their creativity and determination to search for beauty even in difficult circumstances.

Thanks to the new coloring pens set, Lucist can now express herself in ways that they have not been able to before. On that, she says: “I will share the colors with my brothers.”

Education is crucial in times of crisis, not only for academic learning, but also to provide a feeling of normal, stability and safety. In fact, the school supplies initiative is part of the response of the Education Fund does not wait for comprehensive in Sudan and neighboring countries, which supports the establishment of safe areas for children and temporary education centers, teachers training, providing educational materials, mental health support, social psychological support and more.

Schools provide displaced children, such as the Medal of a safe space to recover from the shock of the conflict. It also helps to protect children from harmful practices such as child marriage, child labor and forced recruitment in armed groups, which gives them the opportunity to achieve their dreams and build a better future.

Wissam says: “The house is better than here, but we cannot return because of the war. War is very bad.”

However, it remains optimistic. Thanks to the support you received, you now feel that education is its way to go forward.

The needs are growing

So far, the support of the Education Fund has not been waiting for 135,000 girls and an affected boy from the crisis in Sudan. The total funds of the Fund in Sudan amounted to 33.7 million dollars, supporting the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, providing learning and teaching materials, training teachers, improving access to drinking water, health facilities, gender -based health facilities, and improving access to good, comprehensive and friendly education.

The UN Fund also provided more than 20 million dollars in response to the needs of regional refugee education, with grants announced in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.

But the needs in Sudan, and in crises around the world, are continuing to grow. A recent report issued by the Education Fund has found that 234 million girls and a young school age are affected by crises and need urgent support to reach good education. This represents an increase of at least 35 million during the past three years.

For the medal, the new backpack is a reminder of everything she had to leave behind, and she is now carrying the weight of everything she hopes to achieve. With each lesson, a step approaches the future she deserves, which is the future that designs the nine -year -old to create.