VZCZCXRO0353
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0897 1681348
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161348Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1069
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000897 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, AF/PD, S/CRS, SE WILLIAMSON, AND ECA/A/L 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
CAIRO FOR RELO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL SOCI SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR UNIVERSITIES DEVELOP PROGRAMS AROUND USG BOOK 
DONATIONS 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY. On May 29, FieldOffs delivered the final installment 
of USG-provided English language teaching materials to the Languages 
Department at Nyala University.  Department head Dr. Mahmoud Adam 
Daoud thanked FieldOffs for the donation, noting that Nyala 
University had set a goal to train all staff basic English writing 
and presentation skills by the end of 2008, and that the 
USG-provided materials would help to meet that goal.  Similar 
donations were made to English faculties at El Fasher University and 
Zalingei University in April, as well as to English language centers 
in El Fasher. End Summary. 
 
------------------ 
Nyala University 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) In a May 29 meeting at Nyala University, FieldOffs presented 
the Languages Department with English teaching materials, including 
instructor books, CDs and magazines.  Department head Dr. Mahmoud 
Adam Daoud gratefully accepted the donation, noting that the 
materials were both useful and timely.  He explained that the 
university had instituted a program to teach all members of the 
faculty how to write a paper or make a presentation in English; 
however, the project had suffered from shortages of teaching manuals 
and materials.  As such, the Dean of the Faculty had tasked senior 
language instructors to develop a manual for the course, in addition 
to their regular teaching schedules.  Although Daoud estimated that 
40% of the staff has met their goal, the slow development of 
teaching materials had threatened to prevent the staff from reaching 
100% competency. 
 
¶3. (U) A week after the donation of the teaching materials, Daoud 
told FieldFSN that department heads had discussed the project in 
their most recent meeting.  He was excited that the donation, which 
included Shaping the Way We Teach English instructor's manuals and 
CDs, would save senior staff time and energy, and ensure that the 
most current and effective teaching methods were being used.  The 
department heads had agreed to divide the instructor manual into 
chapters, assigning one to each faculty head.  Each person would 
study a chapter, develop a teaching module for that chapter, and 
then present it to the rest of the team.  This would allow for staff 
to develop and share best practices, help institutionalize 
training-of-the-trainers exercises, and ultimately provide the basis 
for better education of the students, he noted. 
 
---------- 
El Fasher 
---------- 
 
¶4. (U) Dr. Suleiman Nurein, Dean of the Faculty of Education in El 
Fasher University, found the Shaping the Way We Teach English 
manuals useful, and wondered if there were versions available for 
intermediate and advanced level learners.  He liked the structure of 
the lessons, and thought it would be tremendously beneficial for the 
students to continue with the program past the beginner level. 
Nurein noted that the English Teaching Forum magazines were also 
helpful, and offered to have his staff and students participate in 
writing articles about their experiences in exchange for a 
subscription or regular delivery of the magazine. 
 
¶5. (U) Aslan English Training Center and SULET, another local ElQasher language school, received copies of the magazines, and said 
that they were already looking forward to the next issue.  The ASLAN 
training Center manager said that 77 students enrolled in the next 
English language course will receive the magazines, which will be 
part of the reading curriculum. (Note: Donations of instruction 
manuals, CDs and magazines were also made to Zalingei University; 
however, mobile network outages have made it difficult to follow up 
with contacts in West Darfur. End Note.) 
 
-------- 
Comment 
-------- 
 
¶6. (U) Even low-cost programs, such as book and magazine donations, 
have high impact in resource-starved Darfur.  Darfuris are 
surprisingly well-educated, interested in American culture, and 
desperate for any form of constructive entertainment in a way that 
transcends the typical handout mentality.  The dedicated staff at 
the universities, as well as the Cultural Center in El Fasher 
(septel), would make ideal partners for USG-sponsored educational 
and cultural programming - from book donations to support for local 
theater and arts.  Darfur's remote location makes cultural 
engagements difficult, but that much more important.  The Field 
Office will continue to reach out to these marginalized groups, and 
welcomes opportunities, suggestions, and additional resources to do 
so. 
 
FERNANDEZ