Education in Sudan; building primary schools with a community health focus in underserved communities

My hope is to raise money for a school built in my father’s honor in Arbaji, Al Gezira, Sudan. My father, Najmaddin Nasraddin, was a lawyer who was committed to the advancement of human rights and uplifting the Sudanese community and diaspora. Arbaji is a sleepy little village with a rich history that sits on the banks of the Nile river and lacks an adequate primary school. Many children die crossing a major highway in pursuit of an education in an alternative shoddy building with poor construction. The goal is to raise enough money (approximately $20,000) through grants and fundraising by selling Sudanese candles and other crafts within an American setting and context, following traditional “fair trade” type business models. I also plan on launching a Launchgood campaign during the month of Ramadan to quickly raise capital. Sudan is recently coming out of a 30 year dictatorship and has finally transitioned to a democratic government. Sanctions are lifted but the country is still in the midst of an economic crisis. Investing in Sudan is more imperative now than ever. As they say, “Education, then, beyond all other divides of human origin, is a great equalizer of conditions of men—the balance wheel of the social machinery.”