Chad

Our Programs in Chad

Eastern Chad is home to more than 300,000 refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan who fled their homes beginning in 2003. Thousands of refugees have been living disbursed among twelve camps in eastern Chad for over a decade. As refugees in one of the poorest countries in the world, children and young people continue to struggle to gain access to a quality education. 

In a protracted situation like Chad, where refugees have little hope of returning home or being resettled to a third country, opportunities to integrate and contribute to the local community are essential. JRS has worked in Chad since 2006 and is one of the biggest missions of JRS globally, focused on education, child protection, and advocacy.

JRS is leading the education sector in Chad with the largest number of beneficiaries. Its expertise is recognized within the sector, where it serves as a co-facilitator of the Education Cluster. Together with UNHCR and BPRM, JRS implements a wide array of educative projects, from pre-school and nurseries in high schools to primary and secondary education, including classroom construction.

Additionally, JRS maintains very good relations with the local authorities and direct access to the Minister of Education. This relationship has led to the integration of the camps’ schools in the Chadian public education system. Furthermore, JRS has developed a critical partnership with the university in Abéché, where refugee students are studying to earn their national teacher certifications.

With the ONG Entreculturas, JRS Chad participates in the Luz de las Niñas Campaign since 2019. This advocacy project aims to give visibility to the different difficulties faced by refugee and local girls in the country and to offer an opportunity for expression to thousands of girls.

Since 2020, JRS has been extending its operations to the Chad Lac region, with an MHM project funded by UNICEF.

See Our Work

Three young women sitting at a desk doing what appears to be school work as they look ahead in front of them.
Three young adults, one woman and two men, stands around in graduation attire with graduation caps on.
Graduation ceremony of 23 refugee students at the Normal Superior School of Abéché, eastern Chad.
Rehabilitation of a water point at Ecole Pilote primary school in Baga Sola, Lake Chad Province. Funded by JRS USA. Credits to Irene Galera
Guilmey camp in N'Djamena for Cameroonian refugees fleeing conflict in the extrame North region. JRS, in collaboration with UNHCR, inplements the education and child protection programs in the camp. Photo credits to Irene Galera