Middle and high school students at Khartoum American School engaged in deep listening and storytelling experiences in November 2023. Watch their stories here.
When war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, Khartoum American School (KAS) teachers, staff, and families were forced to flee the city amid gunfire, bomb blasts, and great uncertainty. After finishing the 2022/23 school year online, the school was facing 2023/24 without a physical place to call home because of the ongoing conflict. Amazingly, the Schutz American School team in Alexandria, Egypt, opened its campus to KAS and invited them to share space this year, and a number of teachers, staff, and families have relocated there. In the wake of such upheaval and disruption, you can imagine that the KAS community had much to process, and many losses and hurts that needed healing.
The school worked hard to create a supportive environment for its members, recognizing the importance of coming together to support one another in the aftermath of the crisis. Storytelling strategies were employed to help everyone reflect, connect, and express key learnings from the challenging experiences of the past several months. Through the power of storytelling, the KAS community was able to pause, reflect, and begin the important journey of healing, as they navigated the emotional and physical aftermath of the war.
Story Circles and Deep Listening: Healing and Empowerment
Using a protocol for deep listening and sharing stories provided a safe and structured space for KAS students and staff to explore emotions and losses stemming from leaving Khartoum amid war. Most KAS community members experienced gunfire and bombing in the capital and left their homes and possessions in Khartoum as they fled to safer places in Sudan or other countries.
Middle and high school students were led in story circles that featured prompts to help students share their thoughts and feelings. Each participant was able to speak without being interrupted, and also share verbal “flashbacks” with others to indicate what impacted them from what others shared.
At the end of one school day, adults from the KAS community also gathered to participate in a similar deep listening experience. One parent attended the story circle alongside KAS staff and faculty, and it was a time of deep connection where tears and laughter offered some catharsis and permitted the adults to acknowledge their experiences.
Mona Hassan, Business Manager at KAS, reflected on the impact of the story circle experience. "There's so much others can learn from our stories," she said. "I think we have been so focused on helping the students and making sure they’re okay that we haven’t talked about what happened, and at a certain point, it became difficult to go there in our hearts and minds. Opening that door, though, is important for all of us to heal and move forward. The story circle was deeply impactful and necessary.”
She emphasized the strength of the KAS community, noting, "It's been very challenging to process what happened last spring, and sharing our stories is part of the healing for us."
Transformative Digital Storytelling
After the students experienced deep listening through story circles, they were guided through the launch of a digital storytelling experience to empower students to share their stories and highlight messages about what they have learned, as well as their hopes for Sudan.
Students, grappling with experiences of displacement and upheaval, found strength in crafting and sharing their stories. They were guided through planning their stories using a five-stage planner, and each student established a main idea or theme for their story. We explored a variety of digital story forms; most students chose to record a video story, while one student created an animated story and another created a slide show with a voiceover. Each student was encouraged to choose a story form that allowed them to be creative and feel empowered in growing their digital storytelling skills while, at the same time, engaging in deep personal reflection.
Mona noted the importance of perspective, "I've been telling the kids, you're not refugees; you're heroes. There's so much you can teach others."
The digital storytelling experience offered students a semblance of normalcy and fun amidst the intense backdrop of remembering what happened and processing ongoing emotions.
"For my kids, it was about feeling human again," Mona shared, reflecting on the experience of her Grade 7 son and daughter who participated in the digital storytelling experience.
LeeAnne Lavender is an educational consultant, coach, and facilitator for international educators, and the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) Service Learning program coordinator. She specializes in storytelling, digital storytelling, service learning, and sustainability, and she loves partnering with schools and teachers to create learning experiences that have impact and lead to deep learning. She’s committed to helping educators build changemaker/change seeker cultures to equip students with skills and mindsets to engage in positive, purposeful action.
Website: https://www.leeannelavender.com/
