Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer
VCU’s Sudanese Student Association hosted “Taste of Sudan,” on Saturday from 2-8 p.m. at the VCU Commons Ballroom. The yearly event has gained popularity with approximately 300-500 people in attendance this year.
SSA started preparing for the event a year in advance — booking the venue, planning performances, food, skits, dance and finding the volunteers who help bring it all together each year. It all culminates into a day of celebrating the culture and traditions of Sudan.
Some attendees are local, like Aseel Packry, others came from Texas and New York, and some having flown all the way from Canada.
The festival started with a patriotic song “Azza fi Hawak,” sung by the board members who wore white to represent the unity of all regions of Sudan — the East, West, North and Central. They followed it with traditional poetry delivered by Mohammad Ibrahim.
“The poetry represents what it means to be a Sudanese and how proud we are to be one,” said Aya Hamid, SSA vice president and fourth-year student.
The event highlights the fashion of Sudanese weddings, the prominent colors being red and gold. Jirtig, a traditional wedding thobe in red and traditional Sudanese clothing were worn by the Sudanese women, including gold jewelry to depict the culture of Sudan.
“Sudanese women are celebrated by gold, it shows her value and reminds her of how precious she is,” Hamid said.
Sara Elkheir, SSA President and fourth-year VCU student, said she wanted attendees to feel the essence of Sudan and how generous the Sudanese are.
“I want to bring Sudan here, leave a mark, give something back, before I leave VCU this year,” Elkheir said.
Elkheir intends to stay connected to the SSA once she graduates, hoping to offer advice to the new president of SSA to make next year’s event even better.
The festival highlights how welcoming the Sudanese people are, said Haytham Elshafie, an organizer for SSA.
“The event showcases traditional food, Sudanese fashion, famous traditional dances such as Rageba for everyone to experience,” Elshafie said.
“Growing up, Sudanese would watch Youtube videos of traditional dances that people from Sudan use to upload, but for the past few years due to the war we haven’t seen any new content being uploaded. People are in survival mode. So it feels almost like a duty to have this event to continue to showcase our culture. This is our responsibility to tell the world that Sudan is still here and that we are resilient people who love to dance and share our traditions,” Elshafie said.
Sudan has been admist a civil war since 2023, due to the conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force causing mass displacements leading to a disconnect from the world and a humanitarian crisis within the region according to the reports by United Nations.
Third year medical laboratory sciences student and attendee Aseel Packry said that as a Sudanese woman being represented by SSA, it was important to her to “show up and show out.”
Gabas Abdalla, a first-year student at George Mason University, felt nostalgic after attending the event.
“The celebration, the dances of my Sudanese people, felt like home,” Abdalla said.
Taste of Sudan is more than just an event, it is meant to show the rich traditions and culture of Sudan to the VCU community and the general public. It is a place for Sudanese students to celebrate together and share the food, culture and traditions with everyone.
To stay connected on the latest with SSA (VCU Sudanese Student Association), you can follow them on Instagram at @ssaatvcu.