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Fifteen-year-old Zainab lives in Kerinding II camp with her parents, two brothers and two sisters. Islamic Relief established the camp in 2004 and has been providing over 10,000 displaced people with relative security, as well as shelter, food and other necessities.

Zainab and her family were lucky to escape alive from their home village as many of her neighbors and friends were tragically killed. Although she is now living in the relative safety of the camp, she still doesn’t feel secure and every night she is plagued by horrific dreams of what she witnessed in her village.

Every day she has to face danger as she ventures away from the camp to collect firewood for the family. This can take several hours and puts her at great risk of being attacked and even raped. Nevertheless Zainab says that she is luckier than most as she and her siblings have their own straw hut and their parents have their own shelter.

Zainab is one of over 1,500 students who attend the Masakhane school in the Kerinding II camp. The school is often the only source of stability for children like Zainab, giving them some sense of normality in their fractured lives. The school has 37 teachers and the pupils have to pay a small fee each month. This covers the cost of the teacher’s breakfasts as they have to walk all the way from El Geneina town to the camp. The children each receive a free lunch at school, provided by the World Food Program, which is often the most nutritious meal of their day, encouraging them to continue their education.

The school not only gives children in the camp a valuable education and the chance for a better future, but also helps relieve the boredom of life in the camp where there is very little for children to do and nowhere for them to go.

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