Sudan’s war steals children’s future with school closures and displacement
The conflict in Sudan has left millions of children without education, as they work to help their families.
Nine-year-old Abkar Mohammed works cleaning and polishing shoes on the streets of Port Sudan every day. He arrived in the eastern Sudanese city with his mother and three siblings from Khartoum days after the country’s armed conflict erupted on April 15, 2023.
Abkar lost his father before the war began and the family live in a rented a home in al-Kasara, a low-income neighbourhood in Port Sudan.
Due to the family’s financial situation, he doesn’t go to school but does attend classes at a traditional “khalwa” where he learns the Quran.
Hinds warned that the longer children remain out of school, the harder it will become for them to make up for lost learning. This disruption can deepen existing inequalities and mean that a generation of Sudanese children and young people will be unable to contribute to the country’s future peace, recovery and development.