Association in Geneva Holds
Support Dinner for Wed-Sherifey
Refugee
School
in Eastern Sudan
By
Nharnet Stringer (Europe)
The non-profit,
non-political Swiss-Eritrean association for Eritrean refugee
children (ASEE) held a successful fund-raising dinner in Geneva on
25 November 2006 in which about 80 Swiss and Eritrean supporters of
Wed-Sherifey School attended.
Ms Ogba Tekle, the
Finance Officer of the association and key organizer of the event, said
the evening was impressive beyond expectation and “emotionally took
everybody to Wed-Sherifey where the much needy Eritrean children go to
school with lots difficulties”. The support dinner party was opened by a
short video-show and a lively explanatory statement by young Sophia
Ammar, the Secretary of the association (Association Suisse
Enfance-Erythree or ASEE). She talked about the needs of the Eritrean
refugee children in the Sudan who are not receiving adequate attention
of those who should have cared.
This was followed by
young Swiss children who sung in support of needy children and staged a
short play in which they demonstrated how some children live amidst
plenty while others are so needy of even the bare minimum in life.
Following a piano play by a group of children a young Swiss girl read a
poem in which she talked about how poor children like those in Wed-Sherifey
are waiting for the support of others who can afford.
Organizers of the event said the dinner party was a success both in
generating material support and in creating awareness among dinner
participants who vowed to be regular supporting members of the
association.
Established during 2005, the main objective of ASEE is to ensure that
the school obtains the basic minimum of keeping it going. In addition,
ASEE aims to give support to Eritrean community schools in other
Sudanese cities in order to relieve the burden of parents in paying
school fees for their refugee children.
Wed-Sherifey Elemtary Elementary School was built and became operational
in the late 1980s with support of Dutch donors given to the Alliance of
Eritrean Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (A/ERCS) which still
administers this school with capacity for 800 children between the age
of 6 and 16. The school is run under Eritrean curriculum teaching in
Arabic and Tirinia, with English taken as a subject.
Wed-Sherifey School
before its roof was repaired in 2005 by support of Eritrean Catholic
Church missionaries and their friends in Milan, Italy.
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