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Eritrean Refugee School of
Wed-Sherifey in the Sudan
Obtains Swiss Friends
By
Nharnet Team
Nharnet.com has learned from its sources in
Europe that the Eritrean Refugee Elementary School of Wed-Sherifey near
Kassala, Sudan, has lately obtained friends in Switzerland who are
committed to raise funds to help that educational establishment.
Called ASEE (Association Suisse
Enfance-Erythree), the association was founded late in 2005 in Geneva by
a group of humanitarian activists consisting of Swiss nationals,
including a few naturalized Swiss of Eritrean origin.
According to the Mission Statement that
appears in ASEE’s newly set-up website (WWW.ASEE.altervista.org),
the association aims to collect funds for running costs that include
salaries for about 20 teaching and administrative staff of the school.
The usually accommodates around 800 children but mainly because of
funding problems the number of students during the last academic year
that ended in March 2006 did not exceed 500. The next academic year at
Wed-Sherifey starts sometime this month, June 2006.
Ms. Ogba Tekle, the Treasurer in the
Executive Committee of ASEE, informed that their fund-raising activities
were launched last December and that quite modest collections have been
made so far. She said their latest fund-drive event was a dinner party
in the Swiss city of Lausanne combined with an evening for invited Swiss
youth who knew well that the proceeds of the event will go for Eritrean
children in East Sudan.
She said the next event in ASEE’s
fund-raising campaign will be another dinner party in September 2006,
serving mainly Eritrean dishes and drinks. Ms Ogba Tekle, a charity
activist who has been participating in many fund-drives, including
parenthood projects for poor children in Madagascar, further noted that
ASEE is a non-profit, non-political charity association whose sole
interest is to help poor Eritrean children at Wed-Sherifey, and
gradually to extend its helping hands to other refugee schools in the
Sudan. A delegation representing ASEE is planning to visit Wed-Sherifey
before the end of this year.
The Wed-Sherifey elementary school was built
in 1988 by the Alliance of Eritrean Red Cross/Crescent Societies (AERCS)
with funds donated by Dutch charity groups. A number of NGOs were
assisting the school for several years, although many donors thought
that the problem of Eritrean refugees is “solved” because Eritrea
attained independence and because the UNHCR reached a wrong decision in
December 2001 saying that Eritreans ‘cannot anymore be considered
refugees’. Because of this and because of the donor-fatigue reaching its
lowest point in recent years, the burden of keeping the school
operational became problematic.
Last year, an active Eritrean priest of the
Capuchin Order (nowadays popularly known in Wed-Sherifey as Aba Marino
of Milano), visited the refugee school accompanied by a group of
generous friends who eventually provided funds for some renovation works
in the school and for salaries of the staff for one year. That was a
great relief for the parents of the children and its administrators at
the Alliance of Eritrean Red Cross/Crescent Societies.
As is known to many Eritreans, the above
mentioned Catholic priest, Aba Marino, has been instrumental in
generating funds that run Church-supported refugee schools in Kassala
and other cities in the Sudan.
As for the children in the refugee camp of
Wed-Sherifey, where 30,000 refugees reside, the establishment of ASEE in
Switzerland is considered a ray of hope for continuing their elementary
education. The association founded in Geneva is headed Mr. Philippe
Grandjean, a Swiss gentleman who, together with his wife, had been very
help in many humanitarian projects in Africa. In running the new
association, Mr.Grandjean and his wife are actively supported by the
Treasurer, Ms Ogba Tekle, the Secretary, Ms Sophia Ammar, and the public
relations and website manager, Mr. Renzo Elvironi.
The basic requirements of the refugee school,
that teaches children using Eritrean curriculum with Arabic and Tigrinia
as the media of instruction, include not only running costs but also
intensive renovation works on the dilapidated water and latrine systems;
basic air conditioning in the extremely hot classrooms; folkloric
instruments to keep the children closer to home culturally; offices for
the teaching staff; a vehicle for medical transport for sick children in
cases of emergency, and many other needs.
ASEE in its campaign brochures invites one
and all to become members by contributing an annual support of 100 Swiss
francs - about 65 euros – payable through the Swiss post office (CCP
17-492816-8) or by contacting the secretary,
Sophiammar@yahoo.com and the public relations officer and webmaster,
Renzoelvironi@vodafone.it), who promises readers of the ASEE
website to provide them with adequate information about Eritrean
refugee children in the Sudan in French, English, Italian, German and
other languages.
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