Schools start
While the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in western and southern Sudan continues to rage, resulting in widespread famine, many schools in central and eastern Sudan have already resumed classes.
The Eisa Mahanna School for children with disabilities in Elgezira Aba, south of Khartoum, reopened its doors after the summer holidays on 29 August for around twenty pupils. Some of them are now old enough to work and are being taught how to grow vegetables, keep poultry and make plaster casts for home decorations. The three teachers, all volunteers, first learn the work themselves and then train the pupils.
Salwa Abdelrahman’s childcare centre in Jabarona, a former camp for refugees from the Nuba Mountains and South Sudanese in south-west Omdurman, has also reopened. The residents of Jabarona have suffered greatly from the two-year RSF occupation. In addition to the violence, there has been widespread looting and there is famine. Salwa previously reported that children had even died of starvation.
Those who were able to flee often camped in empty schools or homemade huts in neighbourhoods that remained under army control, such as those around the Elrayan school. Most have now returned to Jabarona, Salwa recently said via WhatsApp. ‘Fatigue, hunger and disease are written all over their faces. They often shelter together, because iron doors and windows and zinc roofs have been stolen from many houses.’
There is no medical assistance nearby and transport to a hospital, kilometres away, is too expensive. What money remains is spent on drinking water and simple meals. There is hardly any electricity and internet connections are more often than not unavailable.
Nevertheless, Salwa remains optimistic. She already has many plans. In a meeting with mothers from the neighbourhood earlier this month, it was agreed that they would clean up the streets in the neighbourhood to prevent the further spread of disease. They are also trying to drain the water from the many puddles that have formed as a result of days of heavy rainfall.
Because the public primary school in Jabarona has not yet started, Salwa is considering opening the nursery in the afternoons for lessons for primary school pupils ‘so that they don’t fall further behind’. She is currently compiling a list of the costs for maintaining the nursery school and revising the budget for the monthly costs of breakfast for the little ones and the volunteers.
Jabarona after heavy rainfall in August – Salwa’s nursery: women in the meeting while their children play
Subsidy for maintenance
The Elrayan School started on 7 September with the two final exam classes (class 6 of the primary school and class 3 of the intermediate school) and a refresher class, formed at the request of parents.
The lessons take place in the intermediate school building, because the main building, which belongs to the primary school, is currently undergoing major renovations. The latrine had largely collapsed, and the walls and roofs needed to be repaired, as did the iron school benches. There has been some delay in the work due to power cuts, which in turn have caused a shortage of water.
Work is now also being done on a zinc roof to cover part of the school playgrounds, to protect them from the bright sun. The maintenance is being funded by a grant from AFAS Software, a Dutch family business that finances all kinds of projects through the AFAS Foundation. We are very happy that they approved our application so quickly!
Class 6 of the Elrayan Primary School
Class 3 of the Elrayan Intermediate School
Food aid
Thanks to the many generous donors and the possibility of doubling large donations through the work of Marjan, the new OOA secretary, we have been able to continue providing food aid to more than two hundred families and pupils in poor neighbourhoods in northern Omdurman since April last year. The soup kitchen in Elsawra neighbourhood 43, where the Elrayan Intermediate School[1] is also located, still provides more than 150 families with a daily meal. In addition, more than 20 families of pupils receive a monthly food parcel and about 45 families in the neighbourhood receive a small amount of money each month.
Unfortunately, this support is still desperately needed, because the post-war situation in Elsawra and the surrounding area remains dire. In addition to the spread of malaria, dengue fever and cholera[2], most people in the state of Khartoum are struggling with food shortages. Work in the so-called “informal sector”, to which the majority of workers in Sudan belong[3], has barely started, except for the occasional odd job at the market. The government still pays civil servants’ salaries irregularly. It has now become normal for teachers from state schools to sell falafel sandwiches on the street or drive around in a taxi-rickshaw.
We have received requests to help more families, but unfortunately our budget is not large enough to expand our food aid. In addition, we would like to fund school breakfasts – so important for good school performance – on a sustainable basis and expand our aid in Ombadda. So, if you know anyone who can spare a small monthly amount or would like to make a one-off larger donation, we would be very grateful!
OOA board and website
The latest news concerns the treasurership of the OOA foundation. As of 1 August, Nadim has officially taken over from Rianne. In practice, the work has been divided: Nadim takes care of the finances relating to the Elrayan School (school maintenance, lessons, and food aid), while Rianne will continue to do the bookkeeping for Salwa’s childcare centre and the Eisa Mahanna School for the time being.
In addition, we are still looking for a website designer who can develop a new, simple website for us. Who can help us?
That’s all for this newsletter. If have any questions, please email them to onderwijsoostafrika@yahoo.com.
Warm regards from the OOA board (Djûke, Marjan, Elseline, Nadim, and Rianne)
Amsterdam, 13 September 2025
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[1] Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, the education system in Sudan has changed. Instead of eight years of primary school and three years of secondary school, pupils will now first receive six years of primary school education, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of secondary school.
[2] On the one hand, due to water shortages and the large amount of rubbish that is not collected (though often burned by active local residents) and, on the other hand, due to the current rainy season. Puddles of water remain for a long time and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes because the drainage channels have not been maintained.
[3] https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2025-06/informal_economy-global_report.pdf