Education East Africa Foundation

Elrayan School

In 2017, five Coptic teachers from the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan put their heads together and rented an empty space in a poor suburb in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city at a cheap rate. There they set up the Elrayan primary school. The new self-help school was initially known as a purely Christian school, but its reputation grew quickly and only a little later the first Muslim pupils enrolled.

Thanks to the commitment of the teachers and the extra tutoring sessions they provide, the final exam results are much better than those of students at state schools in the area – here, the number of children per class is around 100 and the teachers are often far from motivated.

The school fees are very low, but when the parents are too poor to afford them, their children are allowed to enter for free. Moreover, it is the only school for miles around that offers Christian religion classes in addition to lessons in Islam and Islamic law. While this is expected of every school as it is a final exam subject, it usually does not happen.

The Education East Africa Foundation has supported the school right from the start with a monthly contribution towards teachers’ incomes and one-off donations for refurbishment of the small classrooms and furniture, textbooks, and other school supplies.

The school turned out to also affect the children’s behaviour. Petty crimes in the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods near the school have even decreased since the school opened its doors. ‘The older students at the school now don’t have to prove themselves in street gangs. They even oppose them,’ teacher Jirjis said.

Despite the low fees, the teachers are very passionate. They organise extra homework classes, for instance, to clear any deficiencies and get the children ready for the final exams. Teacher Rajaa, herself a mother of six, is proud that the students in ‘her’ class have all passed. ‘I teach arithmetic, Arabic and geography to the upper classes, and I am class leader of class five,’ she explains.

‘The children, often from illiterate families from the Nuba Mountains who speak their own language at home, were quite weak at the beginning of the school year, especially those who came from state schools. We read a lot, especially stories. Sometimes I gave extra lessons in the afternoon to help them brush up on them. They tried so hard, I was happy to do it.’

Unlike most pupils, ten-year-old Hozeifa is from northern Sudan. He is new to the Elrayan school, but he already knows he wants to stay there. The boy comes from a state school, where he was one in a class of 100 children. ‘The teachers here are much nicer. They explain things to us. And at the other school, they hit the kids really hard.’

There is no doubt that the school is vital for some 500 children of parents or grandparents most of whom had to flee a warzone. Under the motto ‘every little bit helps’, the foundation therefore hopes to interest more monthly or one-off donors. So new donors who can spare a monthly or one-off amount are more than welcome!