(Press Release) On April 17th 2018 was the laying ceremony of the first stone of the Girls Basic School in Jabal Awlia Locality in Mayo – Khartoum State - took place in the presence of Mr. Abu Obadiah Abd Elaziz Oragi, Locality Commissioner, H.E Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Country Director, H.E Fabrizio Lobasso, Ambassador of Italy, Mr. Vincenzo Racalbuto, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Khartoum, H.E General Salah Eltayeb Awad, Commissioner General SDDRC and the Deputy Locality Commissioner. The school will be realized in the framework of the one-year UNDP C2SP project funded by Italy in partnership with the DDR Commission aimed at pursuing development-oriented activities to consolidate peace and social cohesion in Khartoum and Blue Nile States.
The new girls school composed of 8 news classrooms, 3 latrines and water points for drinking will integrate the needs of the already exiting in Al Yarmouk – Block 7 primary school with 13 classrooms for 1800 students.
Mayo – highlights the Italian Ambassador – with half of the population under the age of 14 is facing a lack of education facilities and it is our duty to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all as stated in SDG# 4. Through this girls’ schools, the Italian Cooperation not only is committed in improving girls’ education but is also boosting gender equality and promoting resilience to prevent possible radicalization, crime and violent conflict among youngsters.
The UNDP Country Director Selva Ramachandran recalled the importance of the Girls’ Basic School in an area affected by a number of school non-attendance and dropout, and isolation during the rainy season: the school, he added, is the first brick for the development of future society.
General Salah Eltayeb Awad, Commissioner General SDDRC, in the same way underlined the importance of girls’ education and he concluded stating that to invest in women and girls is, quite simply, to invest in a better future.
The new school will host a Women Community Center where community members will be able to access a public space to exchange their knowledge and to organize different kind of civic education programmes such as income generation projects and literacy courses that will support the revitalization of the community.
Due to the high intensity of population as well as IDPs and refugees, Mayo is under the continuous risk of social tension and conflicts - added the local representatives - and we are committed in supporting DDR Commission, UNDP and Italy in managing a Community Management Committee (CMC) to enhance the function of existing popular committee and conduct a comprehensive capacity building training in project management and monitoring, financial management, peace-building and conflict management.