Against the odds: Isa’s mission to protect education

Isa, 41, still remembers the sounds of his classroom in Darfur, Sudan. The sounds of chalk against the blackboard, chairs scraping the floor and the chatter of happy children all day long. He was surrounded by kids in all aspects of his life: at his job teaching at a government school, at the primary school he owned, at home with his children.

Then, crisis hit and upended life as he knew it. What started as armed clashes in Khartoum in 2023 spiraled into all-out civil war, one that continues to this day. There was no time to prepare and no way to protect the life he’d built. Isa fled the area with his wife and their four children, with one goal in mind: find refuge in South Sudan.

They crossed the border and arrived at the Wedweil Refugee Settlement with just the clothes they wore. They had to leave everything behind in their desperate bid to escape the growing unrest—their kitchenware, bedding and all the comforts of home. Now, at the settlement camp, the six of them faced an uncertain future, starting over with nothing.

A camp with no classrooms

World Vision, with funding from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), provided the family with much-needed essentials when they arrived, such as blankets, cooking sets, clothes and soap. They also received life-saving food from the World Food Programme. These bare necessities helped Isa’s family find their footing and start over in their new home.

But as days passed, Isa noticed something vital was missing from the camp: a school. The dedicated teacher knew that kids couldn’t just languish in the camp, waiting for the crisis to end. They needed to keep up with their studies. They needed structured routines and time to play. They needed a school.

But Isa knew he couldn’t just worry about this problem. If he wanted to make a difference, he needed to act.

With support from World Vision and other humanitarian organizations, he opened a community school and named it Al Mustagbal Primary School. Al Mustagbal means “the future”—and that’s exactly what he hoped this school would become.

The school initially offered classes from primary one to four—just enough to give the youngest kids in camp somewhere to go. The immediate goal was to help them get back to a familiar routine and keep up with their education.

From one classroom to hundreds of children

Despite starting small, word about a new school in the camp travelled fast. But as more families arrived with children in tow, it became clear that one small school wouldn’t be enough for all of them. So, with help from UNHCR, three primary schools and a secondary school opened their doors to refugee children.

World Vision, with UNHCR funding, helped the schools and the influx of students from the settlement by:

• Training both government and refugee teachers and PTA members across all schools.

• Distributing exercise books, pens and other learning materials to more than 250 refugee children.

• Helping students cover their tuition.

• Creating teacher-parent associations, hygiene clubs, sports and drama clubs, and girls and child tights clubs.

Today, more than 442 refugee children are enrolled across these integrated schools. Isa is one of 13 refugee volunteers now teaching at Wedweil Integrated Primary School.

“These schools are not only centres of teaching and learning,” Isa says. “They are pillars of peaceful coexistence between us (refugees) and our brothers and sisters in the host community.”

Thanks to Isa’s efforts, refugee children now sit beside children from the host community, sharing the same lessons, making friends and gaining fluency in basic English and Dinka, the national language in South Sudan.

A future worth protecting

Because of ongoing conflict, Isa lost his school, his home and the peaceful life he’d built for his family in Darfur. What he didn’t lose was his powerful belief that all children deserve an education, even inside a refugee settlement.

His story is a reminder of what’s possible when someone refuses to let warfare and displacement end a child’s education. For hundreds of children in Wedweil, Isa’s resilience gave them a second chance for a brighter future.

Why Isa’s story matters on September 9

Every year on September 9, the world marks International Day to Protect Education from Attack. Established by the UN General Assembly in 2020, this day highlights the urgent need to protect education during times of conflict. The theme of 2026 is, “Can education survive attack? The resilience of human communities”—a question that Isa has already answered by restoring education for children and teachers caught in the crossfire of armed conflict.

Civil war didn’t just displace Isa and his family. It tried to rob him of the one thing he had left: an education for kids struggling to adapt to a crisis out of their control. This was the driving force behind Isa’s decision to rebuild. Al Mustagbal Primary School, and the hundreds of students he teaches at Wedweil Integrated Primary School, are proof that the right to learn can survive despite all odds.

Between 2024 and 2025, there were 8,566 reported attacks on schools worldwide, harming 24,174 children —the highest number of children affected since monitoring began. Isa’s classroom isn’t just a small, bright answer to a global crisis. It’s also a reminder that protecting education from attack is a lifeline for schools, teachers and students caught in crossfire of armed conflict.

Protect children’s right to education

Isa helped restore education for hundreds of refugee children—but he couldn’t do it alone. You can help provide the support that drives progress and lasting change, giving teachers like him the materials, training and resources they need to keep teaching.

Give to World Vision Canada ’s Where Most Needed fund, and you’ll help a child get what they need most—whether that’s a classroom like Isa’s, free school meals or teacher training in a refugee settlement. Your gift is flexible support that responds to the most urgent need the moment it arises.

You can also help protect a child’s education—along with other basic needs like food, healthcare and clean water—through child sponsorship. For every child you sponsor, four more benefit, thanks to pooled donations from generous sponsors like you.

When you stand behind teachers like Isa and the children who depend on them, young minds can flourish even when conflict tries to take their education away.