Schooling for Sudanese refugee children and women Photo Gallery

6-Year-Old Mohamed’s Constant Smile

Now with his new shoes and clothing, he’s even happier and described by his school principal as good natured, trustworthy, a problem solver. Youngest of 4, Mohamed’s very poor parents insist all their children attend school and somehow manage to find the money. Their homework must be done without electric power or a lamp, but that doesn’t hamper their enthusiasm. Mohamed’s older sister, now in seventh grade, will take the primary school examination next year.

Homes of some of the school children

Dar Es Salaam community is mostly inhabited by between 35,000 to 45,000 displaced people originally from southern and western parts of Sudan. They were relocated following the 1992 US bombing of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical company, when to avoid future attacks, the Khartoum Municipality evacuated areas around the plant and shifted residents to Dar El-Salaam-Taiwidat. Here they face many problems: insufficient health services, high illiteracy, massive unemployment, and chronic poverty.

School founder and principal Mohamed El-Tayeb

Mohamed El-Tayeb (c) now administers the Tagwa Centre school he founded, on land he donated, built by volunteers using local materials for its mud-brick construction, single-story, with five rooms. Despite its modesty, this is a dream come true for Mr. El-Tayeb and this entire refugee community, and an alternative to distant, expensive, overcrowded public schools.

Attracting orphans off the streets

Like the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin--only with the lure of delicious desert dates, Mohamed El-Tayeb ventures into the dusty streets of his neighborhood of Dar-al-Salam-Taiwidat on the outskirts of Sudan's capital Khartoum. This is his way of attracting boys and girls, mostly orphans, off the streets, into school, and away from a gloomy future at best.

Nearly half of all students are orphans

A strong magnet attracting orphans off the streets, 40 percent of Tagwa Centre school students are orphan children, victims of Sudan's wars, droughts, and famine. About 45,000 displaced people, originally from southern and western parts of the country, live here in chronic poverty with high illiteracy, massive unemployment, and insufficient health services.

Next on the agenda for renovations

Teachers area and new classroom for El Tagwa School.

A community enterprise--brick by brick

The Tagwa Centre school has been a community effort the moment Mr. El-Tayeb went to the community's Popular Committee on which he serves, and presented his idea. It's their only school and a community enterprise, hand-made brick by brick, and built with local labor provided freely. That accounts for the community's evident sense of ownership, pride, dignity.

Thanks from school kids!