Together with other 250 Sudanese and Egyptian women, Najla attended a Community Learning Centre (CLC) in Aswan supported by UNESCO. In partnership with Om Habibeh Foundation, UNESCO provided psychological support as well as activities and trainings that pave the way to vocational skills and employment for women and people with disabilities.
“We initiated the project to bring together Sudanese and Egyptians to exchange ideas, knowledge and cultures as well as develop their skills,” said Ola, a volunteer at the CLC. “We provided psychosocial support especially for the Sudanese that relocated to Aswan, along with trainings on crafting, sewing, business and entrepreneurship, and human development. They need these trainings to develop their skills into products and become a source of income after they have lost all their belongings.”
Arwa, 15, joined the accessories crafting training. “I was able to learn new techniques and if one product is ruined, I learned how to fix it and make it look even better and appealing to the customers,” she says. “After the trainings ended, I got materials and started crafting accessories at home and selling it through a WhatsApp group I have created.”
“The best training I received were the psychological sessions”
Awatef is a 45-year-old woman with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. In the CLC in Aswan, her favourite training was crafting. “I used to make handicrafts out of leather and crochet to produce bags back in Sudan,”, she says. “My only struggle is that I don’t have enough money to buy materials to produce products and allow it to grow to become a business due to the relocation and change.”
“I joined the business training and psychosocial sessions, which were very useful,” said Najla, who has a bachelor’s degree in economics. “The best training I received were the psychological sessions. I was able to transmit it to my children to be able to cope in a different country. Through it I was able to overcome what happened in Sudan and look into new opportunities. I started a small biscuits business, but I need more trainings in financing and promotion.”
The CLC was first piloted based on a rapid needs assessment targeting Sudanese and Egyptian women and people with disabilities in Aswan, conducted by UNESCO office in Cairo. The findings underscored the need to strengthen social cohesion in the host community by providing psychosocial support and promoting community resilience. To do so, the experts and volunteers at the CLC address topics such as understanding and mainstreaming social cohesion, engaging youth and promoting inclusion, dealing with post-conflict traumas, and exercising cognitive behavioural therapy.
