A picture of Nuba Mountain countryside
The Nuba Mountains of western Sudan are one of Sudan’s most beautiful
but least developed areas. Although Sudan’s more than 20 years of civil
war ended for the Nuba in 2002, development of the area has yet to
occur. There are few schools, clinics or hospitals and some 90 percent
of the Nuba women and children remain illiterate.
The educational work which became Together for Sudan started
in1996 as an effort to educate Nuba women and in that first year we sent
two women to university in Omdurman. Later we began to pay women’s
literacy teachers’ salaries and basic school teachers’ salaries as a way
to support and even set up basic self-help schools among displaced Nuba
in the Khartoum area. However, peace and the enthusiasm of the Nuba for
education have brought opportunity to expand these first small efforts.
Kadugli sub office opens
In January 2005 Together for Sudan, a British charity devoted to the education of
Sudanese women and children, opened a small office in Kadugli, capital
of the Nuba Mountains. This was the first sub-office to our main office
in Khartoum and, for us, a big step forward. Recently, spurred on by
requests for help, we have been able to expand our educational work from
government controlled areas of the Nuba Mountains to areas formerly
under the administration of the southern rebels. And something even
bigger has happened. In January 2006 Together for Sudan and its small
Nuba partner schools and community associations which sponsor women’s
literacy classes kicked off a project which we hope will revolutionize
education for at least some areas of the Nuba Mountains.
Trainees pose by the freshly painted Kadugli project centre
A three year plan.
Over the next three years we plan to train 60 women’s literacy teachers,
60 pre-school teachers and 60 basic school teachers and then place them
with in-service training, meaning that they will be teaching real
children in real schools. The literary teachers will be trained in the
dynamic Reflect method which, in an eight month intensive course,
typically allowing 80 percent of the students to become literate.
Education.
This joint training project, which we are calling simply “Education for
the Nuba” will change the lives of hundreds of Nuba women and help build
a more secure future for their children. The basic training funding for
this project has been pledged. But we are in great need of funding for
items such as blackboards, textbooks and school breakfasts and for solar
lighting for schools and centres with no electricity.
What you can do:
Donations in any amount are much appreciated. But please consider
whether you are able to change a young woman’s life – and contribute to
peace in Sudan – by offering regular donations.
Contact us now
enquiries@togetherforsudan