Nearly half of the 20 countries where Christians face the world’s most extreme persecution are...
This fall, millions of children will return to classrooms across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Millions more will not. From war-damaged schools in Sudan, Gaza, and Lebanon to classrooms forbidden to girls in Afghanistan, SAT-7 is helping children hold on to learning. And to hope.
Conflict, displacement, poverty, and restrictions on education are keeping children away from school – sometimes for months or even years. Across the MENA, an estimated 30 million children ages five to 18 are out of school.1
At least 8 million school-aged children are out of school in Sudan.
Nowhere is the scale more devastating than Sudan.
After more than three years of conflict, at least eight million school-aged children are out of school, according to UNICEF.2 Nearly half of the country’s school buildings are no longer functioning as classrooms; some have been damaged by fighting, while others shelter families displaced by violence.
In Darfur alone, more than three million of the region’s nearly four million school-aged children are out of school.
Access to education for Sudanese refugees in other countries can be problematic too, as highlighted in a SAT-7 campaign video called The Chair, which urges people to “make room” for the displaced and needy in their communities.
Recent conflict has forced children in other MENA countries out of school, too.
In Lebanon, a nationwide assessment found 340 schools that were damaged or destroyed by the recent fighting. UNICEF warned in July that at least 100,000 children could be left without a classroom when the new academic year begins unless urgent repairs are made.3
The situation is even more acute in Gaza, where almost an entire generation has been deprived of normal schooling.
Around 700,000 children have missed formal, in-person education for almost three consecutive school years. Nearly 98 percent of school buildings have been damaged, with more than 93 percent requiring major rehabilitation or complete reconstruction. Around 420,000 children currently have no access to face-to-face learning at all.4
For Arabic-speaking children whose education has been disrupted by conflict, SAT‑7 continues to make its My School educational program freely available. Originally launched in response to the Syrian civil war, its 400-plus episodes cover core primary subjects including Arabic, English, math, and science, and remain available through the SAT‑7 KIDS channel and the SAT-7 PLUS streaming platform.
In Afghanistan, the classroom presents a different kind of barrier. After five years of Taliban rule, it remains the only country in the world where girls and women are forbidden from secondary education and college.5 Over two million are now barred from attending school beyond elementary school.
Armineh was 16 when she told SAT-7 what the Taliban’s return in 2021 meant for her education.
“Before the Taliban came, I was studying English and I was planning after completing my courses to prepare for my college entrance exams,” she said. “But with the current situation, I am unable to attend my courses or to continue my education as before… I lost hope; it was as if all the doors were closed to me.”
For girls, women, and others who cannot access education in Afghanistan, SAT-7 is bringing education to them through the SAT-7 PARS program Sun of Hope. The show offers literacy and math lessons in Dari, Afghanistan’s most widely spoken language, and viewers are following the episodes in their homes and makeshift classrooms.
“In our village, we decided to start a Dari language learning class,” one Afghan viewer told SAT-7. “During the broadcast, I gather eight children and two adults in a room, and we follow your lessons together.”
For children fortunate enough to walk through the school gates this fall, returning can bring its own worries.
Amid dire economic conditions in Iran, SAT-7 viewer Safie was unable to afford the basics her children needed.
“A week before school started, I was very distraught and worried: the children were crying, saying we still hadn’t gotten them bags, shoes, or stationery.”
Safie prayed. Then, while she was in a shop trying to work out how the family could afford everything, a Christian friend called her and came to meet her.
“She gave me her card. And she said, ‘This is a gift from God; go and pay for it.’ I was so happy; joy filled my being! Thanks be to the living God.”
This fall, the experience of “back to school” will look profoundly different from one child to another.
Some will carry new books. Some will wait for a damaged school to reopen. Some will remain forbidden from entering a classroom at all. Some will study through a television screen.
But wherever children are learning – or longing for the chance to learn – SAT-7 will continue to offer education, encouragement, faith, and hope.
Sources
5 UNESCO
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