The schools in Kalma Camp serve thousands of students. Yet, in terms of facilities, they are little more than empty buildings. Kalma’s schools don’t have desks or chairs for the children to sit, listen and study.
“Kids sit in the dirt all day,” Adam Abdallah Musa told us. Adam is the overall camp leader in charge of schools in Kalma Camp. While we couldn’t afford desks and chairs for all the kids in Kalma, Adam explained that if students even had mats to sit on they would feel good. ”It will make them feel comfortable.”
So our team worked the best deal they could and got 53 giant mats with our daily budget of $500. And those mats were distributed to 5 of the schools in Kalma that needed them most.
“We’re just IDPs, we don’t have much to give,” Adam said. “But we’re doing our best. Just yesterday you were here and we told you what we needed. And now today you’re back here with it.”
The real heroes are the teachers in Kalma’s schools. They are displaced people from the same communities as their students. Many are working with little or no pay to ensure that their young people still receive an education. We were so lucky to be able to get behind the efforts of these changemakers and also provide something that will make a difference to their students.
