A couple of years ago, my husband was approached by a man who was on the board of a Sudanese school. He was an expat too, and was getting ready to leave Egypt. The board needed another man to take his place. Well, this man asked Tim if he would be interested, and that is how it all began. Tim is now the chairman of the board and is very active in helping to keep this Sudanese school open.
There are several Sudanese school here in Egypt. All of them are kept open by donations, or are run by church sponsorship. The school my husband is involved with is run totally off of donations. We have been very blessed within the last couple of years to have several big charity organizations step in to help. One organization gives enough money for the kids to have a nice breakfast every morning. If they did not get this breakfast, most to all of these kids would come to school hungry.
The teachers and staff of the school are all Sudanese, so along with giving these children an education, the school gives opportunity for jobs to the Sudanese. There are around 275 kids enrolled in the school this year, and it is predicted there will be over 300 next year. The school will be moving from a single floor building to a seven floor building this summer. This gives them a lot of room for expansion.
Another benefit to these children besides giving them an education is that it keeps them off of the street and out of the gangs. There is a problem with different Sudanese gangs here, and just like in the States, these gangs try to recruit kids into them. Getting into these gangs means nothing but trouble and danger to the kids.
When we first came to Egypt we really had no idea that the Sudanese even existed here, but now we have many friends among the Sudanese. The kids at the school will just melt your heart when you look into their big eyes. These kids live in conditions that most of us cannot even imagine, but somehow they manage to keep a smile on their face, and they always manage to keep a smile on my face as well.
If you would like to learn more about this school you can go their web link at:
http://sdclc.spaces.live.com/default
Beautiful children. I was surprised about the "gangs". Sometimes the most obvious escapes the ignorant (me). I would have thought that the children in that region were being recruited into "army's" of one type or the next and taken off to other countries to fight.
ReplyDeleteWhat are these "gangs" up to? Inter city turf wars and drug running?
A much larger building will help. I've read where teaching the arts, music in particular, does wonders to open a child's life up to the good possibilities.
@eloh, I don't really think the problems with the gangs have anything to do with drugs, but yes, probably turf wars. Also, Sudanese are very tribal. They all belong to a specific tribe and there are problems between the tribes. The school's purpose in educating these kids is trying to get them beyond these problems and try to educate them so they do not have to turn to these gangs for survival.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the art and music. Sudanese, as most typical Africans, love music especially and are normally musically gifted.
Thanks for reading. :o)