(with every cup of bitter despair ** A cup of sweet hope came)

Sufi poem

Like artistic spaces, educational institutions were left to the individual and group efforts of their champions to remedy the neglect and lack of resources from the Inqaz government. Picture of a derelict building in Wad Madani. Source: Andariya

Teacher Najat AbdelRazik    

Listening to the voice of nature that calls out may result in intense fights with oneself and with the bad appearances that prevail on the earth. Mrs. Najat AbdelRazik Abu Zaid is an example of the will and love.

In 2007, Najat was teaching Arabic at Abubakr Al Siddiq basic School, in Rowena village, which is located in Gezira State in central Sudan. During that time, she came across Eithar, a seven-year-old deaf girl who lives in Rowena with her family. Mrs. Najat asked Eithar’s mother to take her to the only school in the village so that she can be integrated with other children, as she was suffering from nervousness and loneliness.

Eithar’s mother positively responded and she was enrolled in the school where teacher Najat took care of the child in all respects, including her transportation to and from school. Eithar swiftly got integrated into school life, learned and responded by getting very high marks in class.

Mrs. Najat was impressed with the girl’s academic performance which drew her attention even more. The teacher organized for her transfer to the hearing center in Wad Madani for a checkup on her condition, followed by a visit to the Deaf Center in the same city to find out if there are cases similar to that of her student. She then contacted the director of the basic level in the Ministry of Education as well as the private education in the state, and they at first showed their willingness to help.

The Birth of Eithar School

In 2007, the teacher took over financial provisions for the child and it is then that she thought about building a school for those with different abilities in Rowena village, but was hit by many challenges. The first encounter was for the administrative unit of al-Gezira south locality, in Al-hosh village, which was against the project.

Their argument was that al-Hosh deserves the school more than Rowena village because it is the capital of al-Gezira south locality. She insisted, and the Ministry later approved the idea and demanded that the teacher takes sign language courses in Al-Hasahisa locality to be practically fit for this school and also required selecting teachers with her. The school was named “Eithar,” after the young girl w ho inspired the dream.

The good news began to spread in the village, and teacher Najat thought of merging this school with the basic school in the village, but faced another hurdle as the school administration refused to merge the two schools for many reasons.

At that time, she only had the approval of the school, and was not assigned to private education. Her dream remained in her mental map. The number of students increased, and three students from neighboring villages joined Eithar when the idea of ​​the school began to spread, so the child (Maqam) from Qism Allah village , (Mutasim) from Al-Fawaida Azizab village joined, and these students were joined to the original students in the class of the school. When another student came with an intellectual disability, teacher Najat decided to transfer the school to her home. The different-abilities became numerous and not limited to hearing impairment only.

She started going to her school after breakfast, although the administration refused to relieve her of the morning classes at first, but some teachers supported her by teaching some of the her classes. The administration could only punish these teachers by charging them beyond their capacity so they relent and not support her. It was a psychological war, and the more she took a step towards her dream, the more the ministry took a step in the necessary countermeasures.

The teacher divided her day between the two schools, between her school (Eithar), in her house, and the primary school in which she works. She even took care of the transfer of these children to and from the new school, although some of them are from neighboring villages.

In 2008, the number of students with special needs increased and the status of Eithar school - meaning teaching at home - continued for three years, and the teacher demanded to build a school inside the basic school, and the school administration refused, but the matter was exacerbated by the influence of other parents' rejection of the presence of students with special needs with their children in the same space. Finally, the village people's committee decided to grant them land to build the school.

 Challenges and the Witch Hunt

Later, the biggest challenge appeared under this totalitarian regime from the commissioner of al-Gezira south locality, where direct hostility was announced. It was clear that the idea for the school was conceived by a person who does not belong to the regime, shows clear hostility towards it and even fights for its overthrow. Teacher Najat also belonged to an intellectual political party that opposes this government, so what the commissioner did was plant obstacles to highlight the hatred he poured on this school.

The people’s committee of the village supported her in the beginning, and their standing with this school was nothing but a reaction as an achievement for them as a committee affiliated with the system. Teacher Najat came with the idea of moving the school to a neighboring village, and they only had to stand with her, but the teacher and her husband paid all the financial costs.

The challenges followed when she decided to raise the community’s awareness about people with disabilities and special needs in the village and neighboring villages, to encourage parents to pay for their children with intellectual or motor disabilities to enroll them in his school. She hosted an exhibition at her home at the school's headquarters and announced it through a health caravan, and invited officials, including the commissioner.

The commissioner continued to put in place obstacles to frustrate the teacher, despite the presence of some of the ministry's employees. He humiliated the teacher and refused to meet her in his office when she paid a courtesy call regarding Eithar school and transferring teachers. The commissioner’s arrogance that the school did not deserve that caliber of teachers spilled over to the extent of making utterances in the presence of the children’s parents. This did not deter teacher Najat’s professional conduct, and she even thanked him during the exhibition.

During that time, there was no official appointment of teachers because the official declined to recognize the school, and she had to bring in her relatives who had graduated from different colleges to work. They endured harsh working conditions with no official appointment or salary, and the school had no guard or educational supervisor as the powers that be for years refused to make any staff deployments.

It took three and a half years to complete the construction of the first structures which included two classrooms and an office, all thanks to financial support from philanthropists. Teacher Najat was later accused of misappropriating the resources as the commissioner implicated her and gave her a number of materials that are useless to build something from its foundation- such as skewers and beams. The school was organized in a very elegant way, despite the lack of facilities, and provided breakfast for the children free of charge, prepared inside the school by the teachers.

Teacher Najat sought the States Support Fund in 2008, but it was not availed until 2011, and approval to build and furnish more structures was finalized. The delay was because of a conspiracy by the local commissioner who had refused to transfer the school to the administration of Al-housh to spite the teacher. Finally, in 2012, the school registration was opened, and until that time, Eithar School was not on the ministry's list of schools.

A New Dawn

Teacher Najat introduced the UCMAS program for mental arithmetic capabilities in the school. Progress was demonstrated when students Muslim and Abdul Azim competed with 750 students from all over the country at an event held at Corinthia hotel. Unfortunately, Abdul Azim's papers were blocked while Muslim, a student from Umm Tribat village, won first place. The winner traveled to Malaysia accompanied by the teacher who paid all the material costs and the student again won first place in the international competition, beating other contestants from 12 East Asian countries. His success was attributed to the teacher’s effort and the school was later officially opened by the Ministry in 2013.

This school crossed the boundaries of education and the children have progressed in different sectors including agriculture, arts and crafts in addition to taking part in school courses and exhibitions. The students' number has grown and the number of those with disabilities has multiplied. 

Where good things are, saboteurs never fail to inconvenience. The commissioner reached the extent of planting a teacher as a spy on the school to know how it was funded after it got many well wishers from even outside Sudan. Teacher Najat’s diligence and dedication overshadowed the negative energy as the school continued to excel with high levels of distinction.

The school’s teachers and students actively participated in the December 2018 revolution with the aim of contributing to reestablishing constitutional order and the rule of law across the country.

A simple tour of the school with teacher Najat unveils the fruits of determination and aspirations. She affirms that her dream is still growing and she is working tirelessly to have a universality in the school’s footsteps to serve all children who need care and attention, and for those with special needs to have a profession. 

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This piece is part of a series on art, resistance and revolution, created with the support of a grant received through the “Research on the Arts Program” Second Cycle (2020-2021), from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and the Arab Council for the Social Sciences funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The views expressed in this production are those of its makers and interviewees and do not necessarily represent those of the ACSS.