Women and girls often have little or no time for education because they are responsible for all domestic work and caring for the family. (Photo: Megan McKenna/Women's Commission )

The Women’s Commission is undertaking a field mission to assess education in the displaced persons camps in Darfur and in the camps/settlements around Khartoum June 14 – July 4. Please watch this space for field diary updates on the mission from Megan McKenna and Jenny Perlman Robinson (as access allows).
               
Abu Shouk IDP Camp, North Darfur, June 26, 2006 – Many women in Darfur are illiterate; there are few opportunities for girls’ education in rural villages because they are responsible for domestic work, including farming, cooking, cleaning and caring for the family. This leaves little or no time for school. Many see no value for education for girls or women.

Attitudes may be changing, however. The Women’s Commission was told during a visit to Abu Shouk IDP camp that upon seeing schools in the camp and experiencing their daughters going to school—many for the first time—mothers started to understand why education is valuable.

Adult literacy classes were established for women in the camp and they came in droves. “They understood for the first time why education was important,” a teacher told us. The community was supportive and encouraged the women to attend the classes.

“They learned to read and write and it changed them,” the teacher added. “They will now be able to help their children who are in the first and second classes and support them in their learning – they can be teachers for their own children.”

A problem has arisen, however: a lack of funding for the programs, including the teachers, who are volunteers and were only paid a modest stipend. Most, if not all, were teachers in their home villages before they were forced to flee the war, and wanted to continue to serve their communities in displacement. Their numbers in the camps are dwindling because they are no longer paid and cannot support their families. They do not have the full certification required by the government and therefore cannot be on the payroll. Sadly, the adult literacy classes in Abu Shouk have been suspended and women will have to wait to continue their learning until resources are available. The women are eager to return and no doubt will fill the classes once they resume.

Volunteer Teacher Profiles

Huda, volunteer teacher
Huda says she teaches in the camps because, “We always wanted to be educated, but we didn’t have many chances in the villages. This is why I thought it was important to give the coming generation a chance to learn.”

Huda was a teacher for 8 years in her village, before war forced her to flee to a displaced persons camp outside El Fasher.

“We need education in Darfur to raise the living standards,” Huda said.

As a woman, she finds it particularly difficult to be a teacher because she is still responsible for all her domestic duties, which leaves little time to teach.

Huda strongly believes in adult literacy, particularly for women, many of whom are illiterate. “If a woman is educated, she will help her children learn,” Huda said.

Ismail, a volunteer teacher:
Ismail was a teacher for three years in his village in Darfur, before he had to flee for safety to Abu Shok IDP camp. He said he chose teaching as a profession because he felt “it was an important national service for my country. It’s important to assist people and help them learn.”

Although he finds life in the IDP camp very difficult and he realized he wouldn’t be paid, he knew he wanted to continue teaching to help the children in the camp.

“We have war because of ignorance and illiteracy,” he said. “If people in Darfur were educated, this war would not have happened. We would know how to solve our problems through discussion and negotiations. Teaching is humanitarian work.”

Despite the horrors that he and his community have been through, he says one bright spot is that many children in the camps are getting an opportunity to receive an education for the first time. “Many children, if they stayed in their villages, would never learn to read or write.”

Other Reports from the Field:
KHARTOUM, June 19, 2006
Zam Zam Internally Displaced Persons Camp, DARFUR, June 22, 2006