SOS Children in Sudan

Despite the signing of a peace deal in 2005, the conflict, unrest and suffering in Sudan continues. SOS Children has been active in Sudan since 1978 and continues to support refugees, child soldiers and families affected by the conflict.

Sudan background information

The People's Republic of Sudan is the largest country in Africa (ten times the size of the United Kingdom), and is situated on the shores of the Red Sea between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with an average daily income of less than £2. Its economic and social problems are immense, compounded by the civil war which started in 1983. Over a million people have died and four million have been displaced, while frequent droughts and harvest failures mean there is insufficient food to meet the country's needs. There are 1.7 million orphans in Sudan - that's nearly 10% of all children in Sudan. And the war in Darfur, western Sudan, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions, and left thousands of children orphaned, traumatised, poverty-stricken, and far from home.

SOS Children in Sudan

SOS Children began working in Sudan 1978 when the first SOS Children's Village and Nursery School were built on land donated by the Sudanese government on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum. The village has 15 family homes for 140 orphaned and abandoned children and two youth homes, one for girls (on-site) and one for boys, which is located just down the road. In 1982 an SOS School (primary and secondary), which is also open to children from the neighbourhood, was built in Suba, about twenty minutes walk from the village. There are 24 classrooms at the school (12 for girls and 12 for boys) and a playground and sports area. Eight new classrooms were added to the school in 1995. A farm on the banks of the Nile, not far from Suba, provides vocational training for SOS youths as well as food for the village, with the surplus being sold locally. As well as learning how to cultivate fruit and vegetables, the youths learn how to rear poultry and cattle.

As part of the International Year of the Family in 1995, SOS Children constructed an artesian well in the El Salama district of Khartoum which supplies fresh water to about 25,000 people in the area.

Sudan's second SOS Children's Village opened in 2002 in Malakal, the capital of the Upper Nile province in the south of the country, and a city heavily affected by the civil war. The 10 family houses are home to 100 children. The children all attend local schools.

Sudan emergency relief

Currently, SOS Children runs two Family Centres in Darfur, which support families displaced by the ongoing conflict in this region. Thousands of families in the Abu Shok Refugee Camp, in Al-Fashir, Darfur, have been receiving assistance from two centres since early 2005. The two Family Centres provide psychological and psychiatric treatment for the children and families traumatized by the events they witnessed back home.

In 2005, 15 protected huts were also built for single women and abandoned children in the camp, where they can spend the day in a safe area. One more centre is directed towards single mothers with their children and is a place where they receive training in handicrafts or are provided with work.

Heavy rains and floods severely affected various regions in September 1999. As a result, an SOS Emergency Relief Programme was implemented in Umbada, 10 miles west of Khartoum, rebuilding 40 family houses, re-establishing drinking water connections and renovating the local primary school.

In Umbada, diverse ethnic groups and religions coexist, many single women with children live alone and education and training possibilities are practically nonexistent. In response to this situation, an SOS educational complex was built in 2003, consisting of a primary school, a social centre and a vocational training centre.

In September 2004, SOS Children started to operate a Family Strengthening Programme in Umbada, which increases the capability of vulnerable families to care for their children, thus preventing child abandonment or family collapse. To achieve this, the charity works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.

Sudan child soldiers

"Thousands of child soldiers are now running in South Sudan anxious for their future - (wishing) to trade their guns for games, their bombs for books and their hurt for hope" says Mr Ali Mahdi, National Director of SOS Children's Villages Sudan.

During the civil war, young children were snatched from their families at the height of the fighting and used as soldiers. Today, many have been dismissed from duty, and even though the killing is over, the impact of war remains fresh in their minds. They are lost, scared and cannot find their parents. SOS Children set up an emergency relief programme to support these child soldiers, many of whom are now young adults, and give them back their lives and their families.

To begin with, the children are reintroduced to everyday life. We give them shelter, food, clean clothes and an education. Many children have never been to school and without an education will never break out of poverty. We help them overcome the trauma of war through drawing, drama classes and counselling. They find that being able to express their feelings eases their pain. To help them develop teamwork skills and make friends, they have helped build the houses they live in while on the programme.

There are 200 new former child soldiers on the rehabilitation and reunification programme this year, from the Khorfulus area and Malakal town.

They began by receiving group and individual counselling. Some have already been reunited with their family members and others are being supported to be reintegrated into their home communities.

The young people - mostly boys, but some girls - are now undertaking vocational courses including car mechanics, carpentry, electrics, plumbing, construction and sewing at the SOS training centre, or have been enrolled at school. One of the older former child soldiers has just entered university.

With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), we have been able to reunite families. We have had a very high success rate; over 90% in certain years.

At present we support over 7,800 people in Sudan through two SOS Children’s Villages, one SOS Youth Home, one SOS Nursery School, two SOS Schools, two SOS Vocational Training Centres, two SOS Social Centres (which run the Family Strengthening Programmes) and two SOS Emergency Relief Programmes.

Studies have shown that 84% of the children at Abu Shok refugee camp in Darfur suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Little Fariha, for example, witnessed her father’s murder, and as a result, she became violent towards other children. The SOS Family Centres at Abu Shok help children like Fariha come to terms with their horrific memories. Through painting, drama, music and individual or group counselling, the youngsters regain their childhoods. When we first met Fariha, she was so traumatised she couldn’t speak; now she is a little chatterbox who greets all the visitors at the Family Centres!

Local contacts

SOS Children in Sudan

SOS Children's Villages Association of Sudan
PO Box 1988
Dairat El Mahdi - Gamhouria Street
Khartoum, Soba
Sudan

Tel: +249/183/78 20 72 or +249/183/78 14 19
Fax: +249/183/77 16 21

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