18 Mar Displaced but Undeterred: How Team Sudan Rebuilt Hope with a Robot Named Azza

Composed of refugee students and mentors living across nine countries, Team Sudan overcame immense obstacles to represent their nation on the world stage.

Under a starlit sky, Maab and her brother Mostafa stood at the border of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the desert air still and heavy around them. In the distance, headlights pierced the darkness. Their mentor had traveled to meet them, carrying the package that held the key to their journey—the robot kit they needed for the 2024 FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) in Athens.

“We literally met at the border, in the middle of nowhere desert,” Maab, a student on FIRST Global Team Sudan, recalled. “We received the kit from him four days before the competition.”

They had no lab, no shared workspace, not even an in-person team. Yet, as the package exchanged hands, they knew one thing for certain: they would find a way to compete. There was no time to waste.

A Team Scattered Across the World

Out of more than 20 students, they were down to two.

Civil war had ravaged their homeland, displacing more than 11.5 million people, including the students and mentors of Team Sudan. They were now scattered across nine countries—Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uganda, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

“The heartbreaking fact is that the Sudan we used to know before the war, it’s gone,” said 18-year-old Maab.

“We were forced to flee,” another team member said in their profile video. “We lost our belongings and our equipment, but we did not lose our hope or our ambition.”

In Sudan, the war has done more than displace families—it has shuttered the education system. Millions of students were forced to abandon their studies. Yet Team Sudan remained determined to carry their flag to Athens against all odds.

“We are one family working towards a common goal,” the team said in a post. “We know that success requires sacrifice, strength comes from union, and that great achievements begin with small dreams. We're here to give our best, to go beyond limits, and to prove that teamwork can overcome any obstacle.”

Not being able to meet in person, preparing for the competition presented unique challenges for their team.

“Our preparations were basically over Zoom,” Maab explained. “We took courses in mechanics and electronics to get on the same page. Then in 3D designing and modeling. After that, we came up with the basic design for the robot.”

But the team couldn’t build it until they received the robot kit.

The Journey to the Competition

As refugees, securing visas for their team members was nearly impossible. Several students had no way to even apply, while others who did were rejected.

For Maab and Mostafa, they had to travel to a neighboring country’s embassy to obtain theirs.

That night on their way back home, they met up with their mentor to get the kit that had just arrived. They packed it up in their belongings and prepared for the trip to Greece. They would have to assemble their robot for the first time once they arrived at the competition.

“My brother and I are the only students who were able to make it here [to Athens],” said Maab.

It was during a layover in Cairo that they encountered several other teams en route to the competition who all offered their support.

“There has been huge support from everybody, especially Team Palestine,” Maab said.

“Before we came, I thought I was going to be alone, but that’s not what happened,” Mostafa shared. “I love that in FGC, it’s not just a competition, it’s not just a race to have a nice robot or to win. It’s about sharing knowledge and sharing experiences.”

From Virtual Blueprint to Reality

With the help of their competitors, Team Sudan assembled their robot at the venue in Athens. They named her Azza—meaning “honored” or “dignified” in Arabic—to symbolize the strength of the Sudanese people.

“We are trying to rush, rush, rush, to do the work of three months in just three days,” said Maab.

“The first match, we hadn’t even tried our robot before,” Mostafa admitted. “We didn’t even play any practice matches because we were focused on fixing one thing—our elevator.”

When it came time for their first match, they placed Azza alongside their alliance members from Guinea and São Tomé and Principe. But when the buzzer went off, their robot didn’t start.

They lost the match. And the three matches after that. Each time, they made alterations.

But “after the fourth match, I was very angry,” said Mostafa. “So I went to our pit and started everything from zero.”

As Mostafa took apart the robot, he was asked, “Is it easier to build or take apart?”

“Emotionally or physically?” he responded with a smile. “Emotionally it’s so hard. I’m so sad because, I’m saying, sorry Azza, you helped me too much, I can’t take you like that. Maybe I’ll cry now, who knows,” he said, still smiling.

His decision paid off. Team Sudan won their fifth match, as well as five of their remaining seven matches. Out of the 180 teams competing, their team ultimately ranked 77th.

STEM as a Symbol of Resilience

“In Sudan, we are facing many problems,” Mostafa shared. “We have war, problems in food, in electricity. But we want to say to the world that we are strong enough, we are intelligent, and we have everything to come here and participate and say to the world that we can.”

Maab reflected on the deeper meaning of their journey. “What we’ve built here is more than just a robot. I think it’s a symbol of resilience and doing it no matter what. Despite everything that’s happening, we’re here,” she said. “I don't think about it as difficulties or challenges, I think it's part of the journey. It’s really worth it because it’s not just my experience—it’s my mother’s, my father’s, everybody who helped us.”

As the competition wrapped up, Maab and Mostafa carried more than just their robot back with them. They carried the knowledge, connections, and inspiration to bring STEM education to more Sudanese youth.

“I want to pass on this experience because it’s really precious and beautiful,” Maab said. “I think every kid deserves the right to go for it and broaden your horizons.”

For Mostafa, the journey has instilled a powerful lesson: “I’m not only representing my country. I think I’m also representing the power of education. If you believe in yourself and try more and more, maybe you’ll go to a place even in your imagination you didn’t think about.”

At the 2024 FIRST Global Challenge, Team Sudan stands as a beacon of hope and resilience, proving that even amidst adversity, young people can overcome challenges, and that no matter the obstacles—knowledge, determination, and unity can forge a path forward.