A Surprise Day with the Sudanese in Egypt

On our last day in Egypt, we had the chance to spend the day at a school in one of the Sudanese refugee camps in Cairo. This day was such a gift to our entire team! A few days before, we learned a bit about the refugee situation in Cairo. There are at least a dozen Sudanese refugee camps with around 4.6 million Sudanese refugees currently living in Egypt.
The government expelled the Sudanese from the Egyptian school system because they claimed they could not even afford to pay for Egyptian kids to be educated (leaving no room in the budget to school refugees too). So, left to live with no education, a few NGOs have started small schools in the camps to try and keep the children from growing up without learning even basic skills in language, reading, math, and science.

Because the traumas that these refugees have lived through still weigh heavy on their minds, we wanted to bring them a day of fun. We brainstormed as a team and came up with a carnival day, of sorts, for the kids at the school. We had 5 different stations of activities for them to pick from: a face painting station, a balloon station, a beauty shop station, a game station, and an art therapy station. It was mad chaos and exhausting, but it was a blast!
I worked the face painting station, where my artistic creations included hearts, sunshines, smiley faces, cat whiskers, and the ever-popular fake goatie (which the boys LOVED for some reason). I know, not real creative, but they were quick to draw, which was optimal for the crushing lines in front of me. I loved getting up close to each little kid as I painted their face and then telling them how “awesome” they looked when I was done. Smiles galore!


After that, I went crazy joining a band of kids playing duck-duck-goose and dancing the hokey-pokey. The kids had so much pent up energy they were going nuts, and I was completely hyper with excitement so I was going nuts too. (below, I am running from my duck-duck-goose pursuer.)
But not all the kids were bursting with smiles and screams of joy. There were lots of kids that were quiet and unengaged. Especially the teenagers. I recognize that the teens probably have a lot more vivid memories of the war in Sudan and their escape. Their faces were heavy with painful memories.

And there were some kids who were acting out what I can only assume are images trapped in their heads. Like the little boy who used his long balloon to fake chop off the head of one of my teammates over and over again while we played duck-duck-goose. Or the other young boy who used his long balloon as a mock machine gun to rapid fire at the other children. Some of the older kids would steal the balloons from the younger ones and pop them so they couldn’t play with the toy anymore. And there were kids who flinched and ducked whenever they heard the “pop,” with genuine looks of fear on their faces.
It was designed to be a day of fun, but the reality of their lives—what they have seen and survived—still surfaced. I know our presence was good for them, because we got to love them, hold them, smile at them, and engage with them… all of which communicate they are not forgotten, they are not without value.
I love how God works in my life in themes. He’s been birthing in me a heart for refugees since the summer of 2007 when I read Infidel. Since then, He has grown my interest in and love for refugees through books and documentaries. Then this past December I started training to serve at a non-profit in Austin working with refugees. And next thing I know, God opens a surprise door for our team to visit a refugee school in Egypt. He is awesome!