General Questions
What is the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program and who started it?
After hearing about the massive challenges children from Darfur were facing in the refugee camps in Chad, NBA star Tracy McGrady decided to travel there with John Prendergast and Omer Ismail from the Enough Project. Tracy spent bulk of his time listening to the harrowing stories of young Darfuris in the refugee camps and their universal quest for a better education. Upon their return to the U.S., Tracy and his traveling companions hatched the idea for the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program linking American schools with schools in the Darfuri refugee camps. The Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program is an initiative to provide quality education to refugee children from Darfur, and to develop connections between students from Darfur and the U.S.
Why should I get involved in the program?
Beginning in 2003, the crisis in Darfur has seen nearly three million people displaced by violence. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately 250,000 Darfuris thus far have been forced to migrate to refugee camps in the neighboring country of Chad.
The children in the camps have few livelihood opportunities and far too often end up being recruited by rebel groups. These children, a vulnerable group, are susceptible to being trapped in the vicious cycle of economic, political and social strife because they are voiceless and often unaccompanied. The lack of education is affecting a huge number of Sudan's youth and will most likely lead to a loss of future economic power for Sudan, which will ensure the endurance of today's conflict-poverty trap.
Young people in the refugee camps desperately need an education. The Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program has created a unique opportunity for American youth to provide direct support for Darfuri youth. Money raised through the program will be applied directly to the new construction or repair of school buildings, teacher training and salaries, blackboards, desks, school supplies, uniforms and sports equipment.
How will improving the schools in refugee camps help end the ongoing humanitarian crisis?
An unfortunate consequence of ongoing crisis in Darfur is the disintegration of its economic system. According to Economists Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, on average the GDP of a country with a civil war is 15% lower than it would have been otherwise, and it takes 21 years for the GDP of a country with civil war to return to the level that it would have reached without the war. The only way to improve that situation is to prepare the next generation of Darfuris to deal with the immense challenges they face. Education is one of the surest ways to establish a sturdy framework on which to base an economic system. It provides young people with skills to use in their local communities and gives them a launching pad from which to pursue higher education; with an education they can become doctors, teachers, and business entrepreneurs.
Who is implementing the program in the camps?
UNHCR is the primary implementing partner in the refugee camp. UNHCR will provide training and salaries for teachers in all 12 refugee camps, ensuring the Darfuri refugee children have access to quality education. NGO partners will maintain the schools and supply uniforms to the students. UNICEF is providing books, note pads and stationary.
What organizations are involved in the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program?
Principal partners involved in the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program are USA for UNHCR, Educational Partnership for Children of Conflict, Enough Project, Facing History and Ourselves, and i-ACT.
What is the total cost to fund a school in the refugee camps?
$57,500 supports approximately 700 children in just one refugee camp school. Djabal and Goz Amer in eastern Chad are the first refugee camps supported by the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. Multiple schools in the U.S. are linked with each refugee camp school in order to raise the goal amount of $57,500 per year per refugee camp school. See our map of refugee camps to learn more about the educational needs in each camp.
Where does donated money go and how will my donation help Darfuri refugees?
90% of funds donated to the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program will go to specific schools. It will be used by UNHCR and its partner organizations in eastern Chad to build and rehabilitate primary school buildings, provide training and salaries for teachers, and provide students in the refugee camps with school supplies and more. 10% of the funds raised for the program will support video connections between U.S. and the refugee camps schools as well as administrative costs of the program.
Can I donate books and schools supplies instead of donating cash?
We cannot accept donations of book and school supplies because of the logistical and associated warehousing costs. Cash donations are ideal for the program.
Is my donation tax deductible? How do I get a receipt for tax purposes?
Donations to the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. We acknowledge all donations with a letter that can be used as a tax receipt. If you make your donation online, you will receive the acknowledgment letter immediately. Please print it for your records. Donations sent by mail generally are acknowledged within 2-4 weeks.
Students
How can I get my school involved?
Visit Get Teamed Up to learn about the program, sign up, and begin participating in the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. Once you sign up, we will contact you with the next steps forward.
Do the Darfuri students speak English?
The primary language of Sudan is Arabic, but some of the Darfur refugee students who have been enrolled in schools do speak elementary English. The Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program partner in Chad will facilitate the video blogging between the U.S. and the Darfuri refugee camp schools.
Teachers
Do you have any supplemental resources available for teachers?
Visit Educational Resources to find supplemental resources for your classroom. Additionally, Facing History and Ourselves and Enough Project have partnered to create and distribute a teaching unit to accompany the movie Darfur Now and the book Not On Our Watch. The teaching unit includes four lessons that provide an introduction to the crisis in Darfur; help students identify how activists have responded to violence in the region; encourage students to think about the complexity of activism; and lastly, ask students to connect this material to their own experiences and ideas about activism and conflict resolution. Learn about the Darfur Now and Not On Our Watch teaching unit.
What educational value will the program provide in my classroom?
The Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools program will cultivate a special relationship between your students and their Darfuri peers which will impact the lives of both groups. The program will heighten students' awareness of the current crisis in Darfur, as well as of other international humanitarian crises. The program utilizes multimedia teaching tools which will help students learn about global issues in a way that enhances the classroom environment and engages young people.
