Quite a lot has changed since the last newsletter (January 2025), and not only with respect to food aid. We can now inform you that classes have started successfully in the Elrayan school in Omdurman, Elsawra neighbourhood 50, and Eisa Mahanna school in El Gezira Aba. Furthermore, the army has recaptured Khartoum. In some parts of Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city, there was still fighting in March and the army evacuated hundreds of families to safer areas.
Food aid
In the previous newsletter, we reported that supplies by the Sudanese organisation Hadhreen to the two kitchens in neighbourhoods 43 and 44 near the Elrayan school would continue until the end of January. We also let you know the board had asked the management of the Elrayan school for a review of the cost of kitchen supplies and to look at other possible forms of assistance.
We soon realised that the provisioning of the kitchens could be done in a more cost-effective way, especially when there was a more varied supply to rely on. The Sudanese charity Hadhreen offered lentils and dried broad beans, while Master Jirjis, manager of the Elrayan school, had previously pointed out that aduki beans are not only cheaper but also do not require bread to eat them with. In addition, it turned out that more targeted aid, such as food parcels and direct financial support, would not only be less of a strain on the East Africa Education Foundation’s budget, but that we would also reach out to the poorest of the poor, including more families of Elrayan students.
The kitchens operate on the ‘first come, first served’ principle. There is nothing wrong with this, but we wanted to reach even more students. We have expressed our great gratitude to Hadhreen for their help and wished them good luck with their difficult task. They also help soup kitchens in areas occupied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is by no means without danger. We subsequently decided to continue with one kitchen in the largest neighbourhood, Elsawra 43. This kitchen has now been running successfully for almost two months.
In addition, we agreed to provide targeted assistance to over 100 families of students and their neighbours. Since last month, about fifty families in neighbourhoods 43, 44, and 50 and Ombadda neighbourhood 14 have received a small amount of money, while over fifty families have received a food parcel.
Guided by Master Jirjis, the new operators set to work with great enthusiasm: Master Elfadel, who together with assistant Luka is in charge of the kitchen, Jirjis and Luka who together see to the food parcels, and Master Jimeiz, who together with activist Kushi distributes the direct cash aid. It took some brainwork, but things are going well.
The East Africa Education Foundation receives regular updates on the situation. In addition to receipts and receipt notes, we are sent photos and videos.
Lessons
In the January newsletter we already let you know that the Elrayan School had started teaching provisional lessons to two combination classes in the small building in neighbourhood 43, which houses four classrooms of the Elrayan middle school. A fourth teacher joined in March and a fifth teacher will be added next month, as more than two hundred students have now signed up. A middle school group (class 1,2,3) has now also started.
The school is overfilled and even the small teachers’ room is now being used as a classroom. Unfortunately, the teachers are still afraid to teach in the larger primary school building at the northern tip of neighbourhood 50, directly opposite 43 (which is now inhabited by one large family), because the neighbourhood still runs the risk of being hit by missiles.
The Eisa Mahanna School in El Gezira Aba resumed classes in January. They started with thirty-nine pupils, but the number has now dropped to twenty-four. The elongated island in the White Nile has never been occupied by the paramilitary forces. Therefore, it has been a safe haven for refugees from Khartoum and El Gezira. Since the beginning of this year, more neighbourhoods in Omdurman have again been recaptured by the army and many families, including those with children with disabilities, have returned home.
The headmistress and volunteer teachers who, before the war, respectively received a salary from the government and compensation from the founder, now receive nothing for their efforts. So, we decided to spread the amount allocated for transporting the pupils that would not be used during the three months summer stop, over the other months. In this way, the staff members receive a small amount each month.
The headmistress was keen to send photos of the children in the school van, but the internet connection in the area has so far been too weak.
Beleaguered
The army is winning in Khartoum and the surrounding areas. The Presidential Palace in central Khartoum was recaptured a week ago. The army has also regained control of the airport. It is said that RSF soldiers have left the capital in large numbers.
The situation in the western parts of Omdurman, which are still occupied by RSF militia, is unclear. We have not been able to reach Salwa in Jabarona in southwestern Omdurman. Master Jimeiz and his family, who lived in Ombadda neighbourhood 14, west of Elsawra, were harassed by a group of paramilitaries when they were on their way to a safer neighbourhood. Fortunately, they arrived at their destination more or less unharmed. They are now temporarily staying in an empty school, as are the other residents, including a number of destitute families who receive support from us.
So much for this newsletter. We hope that the fighting and attacks on civilians, not only in Khartoum, but also in the west and south of the country will soon come to an end.
For now, the East Africa Education Foundation continues to look for ways to continue supporting a small part of the population of Sudan for as long as necessary. Your help is crucial.
Warm regards from Rianne and the other volunteers of the East Africa Education Foundation (Djûke, Marijke, Marcel, Marjan, Khalid, Elseline, and Nadim)
Amsterdam, 29 March
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