Only months ago, the school’s classrooms stood empty and dilapidated. Now, new desks are arranged in rows within freshly painted rooms with new windows and doors. For this small village, the reopening of the school means renewed hope, enabling parents to send their daughters not only to learn but also to regain a sense of normalcy and safety.
White Nile State currently hosts an estimated 400,000 refugees and around 460,000 internally displaced people. Enrolment has surged since the school reopened to hundreds of displaced and local children, offering over 700 girls a chance to resume learning.
For these students – comprising refugees from nearby South Sudan, internally displaced Sudanese, and children from the local community – it marks a return to education after more than two and a half years of conflict and interrupted learning. For their teachers, it is a chance to work with dignity and prepare the children for a hoped-for future beyond the current conflict.
“Reopening the schools was like a gift – for us teachers and for the children,” said Headteacher Susan Zein Faisal Allah Al-Kamali. “Despite the many challenges, we found the strength to start again. The interruption meant two years of lost learning for many students, but we are rebuilding step by step.”
“Education is very important for both girls and boys, but especially for girls – it gives them knowledge and awareness of their rights,” she added. “When women are not educated, they are losing those rights.”
In one classroom, an English class begins with the teacher asking students to conjugate verbs and form simple sentences. Although these exercises may appear basic for their age, many pupils are relearning skills lost during their years away from school.
Sitting at the back of the classroom is 17-year-old Omnia, an internally displaced Sudanese girl from Khartoum. It is her first year back in school since she fled with her family from Sudan’s capital in 2023, and she is determined to make it count.
“When I heard school was starting again, it felt like life was starting again,” Omnia said softly. “Before the war, I was the first in my class. I want to score very high marks this year – I want to study medicine, and I dream of becoming a surgeon.”
Omnia still carries painful memories of her family’s journey from Khartoum, but in Al Jabalain, she is finding hope again – in the rhythm of lessons, the laughter of classmates, and the quiet strength that comes from learning.
READ MORE: https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/how-education-helping-heal-communities-sudan
