The New Sudan Education Initiative (NESEI) is building schools in Sudan that will help the country recover from two decades of civil war. As a part of this project, they are sponsoring a campaign that asks the Burlington area community to donate school supplies to help Sudanese students, one backpack at a time.
Creating a personal connection
Abraham Awolich is co-founder and director of NESEI and a Sudanese refugee.
“The backpack campaign asks people to donate a new or used backpack with notebooks, pens and pencils,” he says.
Awolich was re-united with his family in Sudan after 17 years apart. On return, Awolich wanted to help his country by bringing what was needed most, he says.
Maggie Colacchio graduated from St. Michael's in 2007 and is community outreach director at NESEI.
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A map of Sudan, in Northeastern Africa, where NESEI is building schools and sending the backpacks collected. |
“The community is really getting involved in this project. When people are donating a backpack it feels more real than just donating money,” she says.
There are drop boxes for the backpacks located throughout the community. Donors can also bring the backpacks to the NESEI office, located near North Campus in Fort Ethan Allen.
“We would also like the donor to include a letter and photo from the individual sending the backpack and $20 in the bag to cover the cost of the student’s books,” Awolich says.
Although the request for a photo is not related to the students’ studies, it is an important part of the campaign, because it creates a personal connection between donors and Sudanese students, Colacchio says.
“It is really important for students who will be going to our school to know that people are supporting them, even though we don’t know them as individuals,” she says.
The NESEI Club at St. Michael’s, which is run through M.O.V.E., is getting involved by collecting cans and tutoring refugee students at John F. Kennedy Elementary in Winooski once a week, says Meghan Jaird, president of the club.
“My mission is to show that St. Michael’s students aren’t apathetic and we want to help achieve social justice,” says Jaird.
Champlain College and the local community are also on board with NESEI’s backpack campaign.
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While backpacks are a ubiquitous sight on the St. Michael's campus, they are not a given for the children of Sudan. (Photo illustration by Abby Robitaille) |
Each backpack will contain a T-shirt that will have a small heart on one side and says ‘one love’. The Champlain College students will decorate them so each student has a unique T-shirt, Colacchio says.
NESEI would like to collect 150 backpacks by May 12, the expected opening date of the school.
“There is not an official count for the number of backpacks collected, but many pledges have made,” Awolich says.
Education will pave the way
This will be the first school built in Sudan by NESEI.
“The students in Sudan have nothing," Colacchio says. "When Abraham went to school they used sticks in the sand. Today, situations are a little bit better now. Families can’t afford school supplies we are used to having. For two decades, people of Sudan have had no access to education.”
Construction of the school started in the beginning of January and took three months to finish, Awolich says.
“The minimum cost for each school is $250,000 but so far [the cost] has been close to $500,000,” Awolich says. “There will be dormitories as well as classrooms for 150 students.”
NESEI won a large World Bank grant in May 2007, and receives large donations from private donors. At St. Michael’s College, Professors Adrie Kusserow and Robert Lair have raised almost $10,000, Colacchio says.
NESEI’s goal is to build 20 schools throughout Southern Sudan by 2015.
“The school has no age limit; we hope to start with age 14,” Awolich says. “The subjects that will be taught willbe regular high school subjects such as biology and history. This school will mainly teach health sciences.”
The school’s staff will be both local and international, with teachers coming from the Sudanese community, Uganda, and Kenya, along with Americans who come to volunteer, Awolich says.
"By building schools we are investing in people, and if people are invested in their own lives, they will be less likely to participate in violence." |
| -Abraham Awolich, NESEI co-founder |
Building peace
In 2005, Robert Lair, co-founder of NESEI, took a group of students from St. Michael’s, along with Adem Deng, a Sudanese refugee, on a service trip to Uganda to work with the Sudanese in refugee camps. Deng was reunited with his family after 17 years.
While they were there, students asked the people of Sudan, "if they had one dollar, what would they spend it on?"
“The thing people wanted the most was education for their children,” Colacchio says.
“People are trying to recover from war and the lack of resource, and the only assistance they wanted was education,” Awolich says. “If you give them something to lose, they are more likely to stand up for it.”
The best way to help people with the recovery of Sudan is to start an educational program, Awolich says.
In a war-torn country, people look to education to bring positive changes to their country.
“This program was established as a way of building peace,” he says.
If people gain new skills, they can help rebuild the country. They will be tomorrow’s leaders, Awolich says.
The Sudanese people in the refugee camps in Uganda did not want to return to Sudan unless there were schools. They had access to education in the refugee camps.
“By building schools we are investing in people, and if people are invested in their own lives, they will be less likely to participate in violence. We want to build the economy, prosperity and peace,” Awolich says.