Education on hold: Sudan war robs young people’s hope for the future

In White Nile State alone, 1.3 million Sudanese are living in displacement camps or are hosted by local communities.

The unprecedented influx has put pressure on the already limited community resources and public services like health care and water supply.

UNHCR is coordinating with the Government and other humanitarian agencies to provide displaced people like Ibrahim and his family life-saving assistance like food, water, health care, household items, and cash assistance. But the needs are multiplying every day.

“UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in Sudan do not have enough resources to reach even the most vulnerable people. We urgently need more support to scale up our response,” said Hambrouck.

Lost future

Schools across the country have been turned from places of learning into shelters for the displaced. Ibrahim’s family is now staying in a primary school where up to 80 people are crammed into a single classroom with no privacy and not enough space to sleep. One wall is covered with black soot from the open fire families use to cook their meals together.

Every day that he wakes up in the classroom is a stark reminder of the education he is missing out on, but he has not given up on his dreams entirely.

“I still hope that one day the situation will be good in Sudan and war will stop,” he said. “We will go back to our normal life, and we will go back to our universities.”

“I still have hope of being the Minister of Agriculture or an economic expert.”