In their final stretch of schooling, more than 2,000 refugee students in Chad had been preparing for their final baccalaureate exams. 

 Hamza is one of them. He and his family of eight fled Sudan when major armed conflict broke out in 2023. 

“We have been living in precarious conditions and an unstable financial situation. I was afraid I would have to drop out of school,” he said. 

Since 2023, about 15 million people have been displaced, many fleeing to other towns within their home country while others have sought refuge in neighboring countries such as Chad. 

Chad’s welcoming of refugees is a model for other countries, but its resources and infrastructure are not equipped to meet the needs of the massive influx of people. Health, food, and education services have been stretched thin, according to the JRS Chad team. 

For 13 years, through the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), JRS opened classroom doors to refugee students who otherwise would not be in school. 

“Fortunately, JRS, through the PRM project, has always been by my side,” Hamza said. JRS provided him and thousands of other students with learning materials, extra tutoring support and tuition assistance.

When the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and terminated or significantly defunded PRM projects in January, the devastating impacts reverberated throughout the humanitarian sector. Suddenly, 8,000 refugee children in Chad were forced out of school. 

“The suspension of the funding was going to cost us the year,” said Ousman, one of the students studying for his baccalaureate exam, a key educational qualification and entry requirement for higher education. “If I made it this far, it was truly a considerable effort. I had completely lost hope.” 

As documented by several other humanitarian NGOs, millions of people’s lives have been upended — and in some cases lost — by these funding cuts. These students are one more example, as the PRM project was going to support their transportation, lodging, food and registration fees for the two-day exam. 

“In February, while I was in my final year preparing for the final exams, we learned about the suspension of the project,” Hamza said. “This news was a real shock to my classmates and me. We felt as if our futures were collapsing.” 

But this is a story of more than 2,000 students overcoming the odds and finishing their exams. Upon learning of the situation, JRS/USA intervened to make sure these students’ years of hard work and determination—despite some of the most monumental obstacles life can present, including conflict, violence, loss and displacement—would not go to waste. Through the generosity of the greater JRS/USA community, the organization was able to provide enough support for the students to safely travel and sit for the exams. 

Salma is another student who, like Hamza, was forced from their home in Sudan. She and her family arrived in Chad last year. She enrolled in high school, where JRS supported her with an education kit that included books, notebooks, a backpack, writing materials, and other items necessary for her success in the classroom. 

“I hope JRS will continue to provide educational assistance to children, especially orphans who have no one to care for them,” Salma said. 

 “I am deeply grateful to JRS for this exceptional support that saved my final school year. Today, I am waiting confidently for my baccalaureate exam results,” Hamza said. “If I succeed, my dream is to pursue medical studies.”