Women’s Literacy Project in Darfur, Sudan (June 2008)

Having been engulfed in internal conflict for more than three years now, the community area of El Fasher in which Together for Sudan seeks to set up women’s literacy classes is an impoverished community of not less than 200,000 people. This project is will provide 350 women from El Fasher with the skills of reading and writing. To provide this education Together for Sudan will establish 14 literacy classes and pay the incentives of the 14 teachers on a monthly basis for nine months every year. The 14 literacy classes will be a means of extending educational services to the destitute women of Darfur so that they will be able to respond positively to rapidly changing living conditions.

Together for Sudan is an English charity dedicated to education as a human right. The charity also listens to the poor and dispossessed, promotes voluntarism, women’s empowerment and the value of respecting those of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds.

Although this is a three year project for Together for Sudan, the REI Funding Committee, in accordance with our terms of reference, is only proposing funding this project for one year, with the possibility of additional years depending on funds and proposals at that time.

Result

Initial results have been disappointing. Only two teachers have now set up classes, one in August 2007 immediately after the training and the other one in September 2008. The total number of women in these two classes is 34.

The remaining teachers are enthusiastic to set up classes but were being faced by the problem of venue. The Good Shepherd Sisters, with whom they partnered in Darfur, have tried their best to solve this problem by allowing two teachers to use the church schools in the evening. Other teachers were tried to get permission from the local leaders in their area to allow them to use the few community schools available but it was still quite difficult.