The school bag brings hope back to Ahmed and his sister Saeeda and thousands of children in Yemen

Success Story by CRB Humanitarian Media Center

Ahmed and his sister Saeeda live with their simple family in a small house in a village of  Khokha district in  Hodeida governorate. Being severely affected by war circumstances and the deteriorating economic situation just like any family that depends on agriculture and livestock, they found themselves sharing work to help their family with the requirements of life. So, they were forced to leave school to help their father in herding sheep, to meet the basic needs of their family alongside their father.

Ahmed, aged 12,  always dreams of becoming a doctor to help the people of his village who suffer from a lack of health services, while Saeeda, aged 10, dreams of becoming a teacher who would contribute to spreading knowledge in her village, which lacks many educational tools. However, their dreams began to fade little by little as their responsibilities increased, until their day time was divided between herding livestock and helping their family, and they no longer had enough school supplies to go back to school.  At the beginning of the school year, a team from Coalition of Relief and Building (CRB) visited  Ahmed’s and his sister Saeeda’s village, as part of  the project to support education in Yemen, which CRB is implementing with the support of  Turkish Religious Foundation. When the team arrived at their home, they greeted  its members with sadness and pain over the state they had reached as due to the difficult economic situation that prevented them from attending school. However, their sadness quickly turned into overwhelming happiness when they learned that they would get school bags besides other 500 male and female students  of the same case in Al Hodeida governorate. Moreover, other six Yemeni governorates have their share, that is 5,000 bags.

The bag was not just a set of school supplies, but rather represented a real opportunity to return to school, for all students benefiting from this project in the governorates of Hadhramaut, Aden, Marib, Taiz,   Hodeida, and Al Mahrah. The bag contained notebooks, pens, colors, geometry tools, a complete school uniform, and everything a student needs to start his school year with desire, vitality, and high spirits towards education, distinction, and excellence.

The school bag has made a huge difference in the lives of the beneficiary families, and now the children no longer spend all their time herding sheep, but have time to study, and those who were worried about losing their children’s future have become more optimistic, and have realized that supporting the education of Ahmed, Saeeda and others of similar case could change their lives and the lives of the entire families.

Actually, the project has not only brought Ahmed and Saeeda back to school, but has also left a positive impact on the beneficiary communities, as the families have begun to see hope in the future of their children, and have realized that education can be a means to improve their lives even in the most difficult circumstances. The project has also instilled confidence among the children, as they have begun to feel that they are not alone and there are those who care about them, and that the efforts made by Coalition of Relief and Building in supporting education are capable of making a real difference in their lives.

Ahmed’s and Seeda’s story embodies what humanitarian projects can achieve in supporting children who have lost hope in education. Thanks to this project, light has returned to their lives, their dreams have been renewed, and they have become a living example for the children of their village and for every child who dreams of a better future. The school bag project was not just a bag and school supplies, but rather a bridge to a better future for students in the most affected communities, whether in the Al-Khokha area or other areas covered by the project.