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| UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado while addressing media persons in Geneva [PHOTO: UNifeed] |
Geneva: UNICEF has said that it is vital to get children back to school at the approaching start of the school year in Syria to give them hope for the future.
UNICEF spokesperson, Marixie Mercado told journalists at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva that children were due back in school in Syria this coming Sunday, 16 September.
According to Syrian Ministry of Education figures, out of the 22,000 schools in the country, more than two thousand have been damaged or destroyed, and some eight hundred are now hosting displaced families.
UNICEF is carrying out repairs on schools, providing school bags and supplies to children and assisting displaced families residing in schools, whom the government is currently moving to alternative accommodation.
It is extremely important, Mercado said, to get children back to school where security allows, as this is the best way to give them some stability and relief from the conflict. Being in school gives them the opportunity to play, which has been denied them for the past months, and, critically, she said, it gives them hope for the future.
UNICEF efforts to restore education in Syria are seriously underfunded; the organisation has received only one out of the ten million US dollars requested. The spokeswoman said "It's clearly not enough to do what we would like to be able to do in Syria." -UNifeed