Before we head to Sudan’s South Darfur state, we wanted to do one more project at Green Hope. Founders Samira, Kemal and a group of women had built the center themselves some 15 years ago. At night! “We built at night, because construction work wasn’t really acceptable for women. AND we all had to work to make a living during the day,” Samira told us. The school is compact, but there’s space for separate classrooms for all of the grade levels. What there wasn’t was a chair for every student. Some kindergarteners sat on the floor. Other kids shared chairs. We knew we could do something about that. We called up a local furniture maker and he got to work building wooden and metal chairs – small ones for the younger kids and big chairs that would work for older students and for the adults who come to Green Hope for adult education and skills training. The kids had also asked us for some exercise materials, so we grabbed some soccer balls and jump ropes. And we had enough … [Read more...] about “Come See The Fruits of Education”

Mayo is a large section of the city that is home to people who’ve relocated to Khartoum, mostly from western Sudan. And inside Mayo, there’s a neighborhood called Mandela that refugees from South Sudan now call home. Some came fleeing conflict near home, others were seeking the opportunity of the capital and the chance at a different future. For most the promise hasn’t lived up to reality. But there is a group of changemakers in Mayo determined to change that. Samira and Kemal lead the Green Hope Association for Peace and Development. They don’t have any regular funding. So, when they decide to do something new, they mostly just bootstrap it by gathering resources and talent from their own community. Green Hope offers adult education, skills training for women in carpentry, welding, food service, handicrafts, electrical repair and more. They even offer a food-for-work program for the vulnerable elderly in the neighborhood, providing food staples in exchange for seniors … [Read more...] about New Hope @ Green Hope

Tea ladies are a neighborhood institution in Khartoum. They provide the place – a piece of shade and a place to sit – for the community to meet, connect and share a cup of tea. They don’t earn much at all, but they really are the glue that holds together communities. Fatima’s tea stand is right outside our front door. And that’s given us a great opportunity to get to know everyone who lives and works in the neighborhood. We wanted to thank Fatima for her service to the community, so we asked if there was anything she needed. “Chairs,” she said, immediately! Fatima’s stools weren’t very comfy and she wanted everyone to feel at ease as they discussed neighborhood happenings and the news of the day. It was an easy wish to grant. 30 minutes later we delivered a couple dozen chairs to an astonished Fatima. “I’m the most happiest ever!” … [Read more...] about Finding Fatima

Welcome to Sudan! Alight has a team of 760+ changemakers in Sudan, most in South and East Darfur states, providing health care, clean water and nutrition support. This team hasn’t had the chance to do much Changemakers 365, but boy were they ready. Alight’s international staff have lived in the same house in Khartoum for going on 7 years. And the neighborhood has looked after them well in that time. We wanted to do something to say thank you. So, we organized a cleanup of a vacant lot at the center of the neighborhood, full with construction debris and garbage. Everyone gathered – the neighbors and our team – pulled on work gloves and set to clearing years of trash with rakes, shovels and garbage bags. After just an hour the difference was clear. “We’ve been a part of this community and we wanted to thank them for being so good to us,” Country Director Heidi Diedrich told us. “Hopefully this will help the community to keep it clean, and maybe children can play here … [Read more...] about Khartoum Cleanup