Without education children's futures are bleak. More than 40 million children affected by armed conflict are facing a future without education — without hope. During times of conflict, families split up and survival, not school, becomes the most urgent concern.

Children and young people not only face injury, but also face the prospect of being forced to become soldiers or sex slaves. They face new responsibilities such as earning a living or caring for siblings.

Conflict can destroy school buildings and supply systems for teaching materials. Teachers and administrators are often among the dead or displaced. Those children who have access to school often receive very poor quality education. Even when conflict had ended, their futures are damaged because of the learning time they've lost.

The Solution

Rewrite the Future is a challenge to the world to ensure that millions of children out-of-school because of conflict get access to quality education. Save the Children has both met and surpassed its objective to improve the quality of education for 8 million children by 2010 and is working to:

• ensure that 3 million children in conflict-affected countries enter school by 2010;
• make schools safe — a key tool in protecting children affected by conflict; and
• influence national governments and international institutions to prioritize quality education for conflict-affected children.