Despite the noise and bustle of classmates, Wisam, nine years old, focuses on the image that is giving life to his desk. When he ends, he puts his beloved pencils in his bag.
Supplies in their new backpack are a constant reminder of the hope it carries, even in the face of extreme difficulties. Wisam is only one of the millions of children who have been displaced by the brutal conflict.
I left my toys, books, uniform, bag and pencils. My uniform was beautiful.
The country faces the world’s largest child displacement crisis, with more than 17 million school children currently outside the school. Hundreds of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war in Sudan in April 2023. Many others are being used as shelters.
With the reopening of 489 schools, almost 119,870 children in the state of the Red Sea of ​​Sudan have returned to class. ECW and partners such as UNICEF continue to support girls and boys throughout Sudan to ensure that, even in the most challenging circumstances, displaced children can continue their education.
Wisam has already experienced more difficulties than many in life. Forced to flee his home in Sinnar when the armed conflict arrived, Wisam and his family sought security in Port Sudan, leaving almost all their belongings behind, including their school uniform.
Wisam participates in a lesson in his new school in Port Sudan.
Backpacks for a brighter future
When schools finally reopened in Port Sudan, Wisam’s family could not pay the necessary school supplies. Thanks to UNICEF, with education funds that cannot be expected (ECW), the Global Emergency Education and Prolonged Crisis Fund in the United Nations, Wisam has received essential school supplies and even a new school uniform.
When Wisam and his brothers enrolled in their new school in Port Sudan, their enthusiasm to learn again was attenuated by their lack of the necessary school supplies. The shift challenges meant that they did not have the means to buy everything that would be needed to prosper in the classroom.
Fortunately, the Wisam school is one of the many in Sudan that receives vital school supplies thanks to ECW’s support. Through this initiative, whose objective is to ensure that all children have the tools they need to return to learning, Wisam and their brothers received new school uniforms and backpacks full of notebooks, drafts, colored pencils, chalk, rules and more.
“I love my new bag,” he said. “It’s much bigger than I had at home.”
Thanks to UNICEF, with the financing of education that cannot be expected (ECW), Wisam is among many children in Sudan devastated by the war they have received essential school supplies.
More than just school books
For Wisam, your new backpack contains more than just your books and school supplies. He carries his dreams for a brighter and more peaceful future in his homeland that allows him to learn, grow and achieve his maximum potential.
Today, Wisam is a third grade student who participates anxiously in class discussions and raises his hand with confidence to answer questions. His new uniform adds to his sense of pride and belonging.
But, it is in his moments of quiet loneliness in the midst of chaos that has surrounded her since the war that Wisam really becomes life. After the school day ends, Wisam persists in the classroom, absorbed in his drawings. Colorful flowers, outlined with such care, are a testimony of their creativity and determination to find beauty even in difficult circumstances.
With the new set of colored pencils he has received, Wisam can now express himself in a way that he could never before.
“I will share the colors with my brothers,” he said.
In times of crisis, education is critical, not only for academic learning, but also to provide a sense of normality, stability and security. In fact, the school supplies initiative is part of the holistic response of ECW in Sudan and neighboring countries, which supports the establishment of safe spaces of children and temporary learning centers, teacher training, the provision of learning materials, mental health and psychosocial support and more.
The home is better than here, but we cannot return due to war. The war is very bad.
Schools offer displaced children like Wisam a safe space to heal from the trauma of the conflict. They also help protect children from harmful practices such as child marriage, child labor and forced recruitment for armed groups, giving them the opportunity to chase their dreams and build a better future.
“The home is better than here, but we can’t go back for war,” he said. “The war is very bad.”
Still, Wisam is still hopeful. With the support he has received, he now feels that education is his way to follow.
Third -degree Wisam with its class in Port Sudan.
Needs are increasing
To date, Ecw Support has reached 135,000 girls and boys, they are supported by girls and boys affected by the crisis. ECW investments in the country total $ 33.7 million and support the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, the provision of learning and teaching materials, teacher training, improvement of access to drinking water, water facilities and sanitation sensitive to gender and improvement of access to quality, inclusive education and with the child.
ECW has also provided more than $ 20 million in response to regional education needs on refugees, with subsidies announced in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.
But, the needs in Sudan and in the crises around the world are only increasing. A recent ECW report finds that 234 million girls and boys of school age are affected by crises and need urgent support to access quality education. This is an increase of at least 35 million in the last three years.
For Wisam, his new backpack, once a reminder of everything that was forced to leave behind, now has the weight of everything he hopes to achieve. With each lesson, he approaches the future he deserves, a future that the nine -year -old is determined to create.