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Jesuit Entity Seeking Partnership Towards “dignified, solid response” to Sudan War Victims

A girl carrying water in Djabal refugee camp, Chad. Credit: JRS

Jesuits Refugee Service (JRS) in Chad is seeking partners to facilitate “a dignified and solid response” towards victims of the ongoing violent conflict in Sudan who have fled to the landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa.

In a Wednesday, July 5 report, officials of the international refugee entity of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) say that persons fleeing the Sudan war that broke out on April 15 arrive in Chad in “extremely vulnerable” conditions.

“We call for support to give a dignified and solid response to people fleeing the violence,” JRS officials say, adding that the Non-Governmantal Organizations (NGOs) on the ground in Chad “do not have enough capacity to cover all the needs.”

According to a June 1 report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 100,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Chad since the violence between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out.

UNHCR has further reported that 200,000 Sudanese may be forced to flee to Eastern Chad in the coming three months.

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In the July 1 report, JRS officials say they are striving to provide education for refugee children at Chad’s Djabal Refugee Camp.

“JRS’s efforts are focused on protecting children’s education, identifying school-age children at reception sites and qualified teachers, as well as distributing school materials, and raising awareness on the importance of access to education,” JRS officials say.

They add, “JRS is also advocating with local Chadian authorities to ensure refugee children are accepted into official national schools.”

Saleh, the headmaster of a high school at Chad’s Djabal Refugee Camp, says the students are facing challenges that impede their learning.

“There are many children in small classrooms,” he says, and adds that Sudanese students and teachers in Chad are having difficulty in communication because of language.  

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“In Sudan, education is in Arabic, while in Chad it is in French. In addition, refugees from Sudan have lost a large part of the school year due to the outbreak of the war,” he further says, and adds, “We are working to make up for the time lost in their education.”

Mr. Ahmad, a Sudanese teacher in the Djabal Refugee Camp says he tells the refugee children his story since he left Sudan in 2004 to encourage them. 

“I tell children my own story, I also fled Sudan and now I am a teacher here. I try to explain to them that here they can feel safe, calm, and that little by little they will forget the horrors they have been through. At school, we try to build a better future for them,” the Sudanese teacher says.

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