Malaz， 13， has been a student at Jamam basic school， outside Kassala town， the capital of Eastern Sudan’s Kassala State， since she was in the first grade.

\"There was no water， no fence around the yard，\" she says， recalling what her school was like in her early years here. The school was not clean. There were no latrines， and we had no recreation activities. But over the last five years， Malaz， now in Grade 8， has watched her school transform into a welcoming environment where learning is fun. Across the Sudan， UNICEF is supporting quality education by making schools like Malaz's more child-friendly.

Focused on addressing the child’s needs comprehensively， the child-friendly school （CFS） model is as much concerned with the health， safety， security， nutritional status and psychological well-being of the child as with teacher training， teaching methods and learning resources.

Eastern Sudan is a region facing extreme poverty， as well as high rates of undernutrition and maternal and infant mortality. Its schools have among the lowest enrolment rates in the country. Kassala also bears the effects of these obstacles to learning.

Because of the scale and complexity of the challenges affecting education in Kassala State， the introduction of the CFS model is integrated with other interventions. Part of UNICEF’s purpose has been to use Jamam basic school as an entry point to reach the community with messages on best practices in water， sanitation and hygiene （WASH）. That approach has proven highly successful.