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Save the Children Joins Actress Angelina Jolie and UNHCR to Improve Education for Refugee Children in War Zones
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Save the Children's Charles MacCormack joins UNHCR spokesperson, actress Angelina Jolie, in calling for more help to educate refugee children. |
Washington, DC (September 27, 2007) — One year after launching a global campaign to bring quality education to children in war zones, Save the Children yesterday joined former President Bill Clinton and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie in calling for more support to assist the educational needs of millions of displaced children living in refugee camps.
The announcement came at a press conference during the first day of a three-day conference hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative (GGI), which brings together global leaders to devise and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.
Representing the Alliance of twenty-eight Save the Children agencies worldwide, Save the Children USA President and CEO Charles MacCormack reconfirmed the Alliance's commitment to help secure a quality education to an estimated 39 million children who live in countries affected by conflict and cannot go to school.
A year after the launch of the agency's Rewrite the Future campaign, Save the Children has assisted 3.4 million children in more than 20 countries and put the issue of education for children in communities affected by war on the world's agenda. In addition, Save the Children has helped mobilize support from governments, corporations and individual contributors. The UK and Dutch governments have committed nearly $600 million in new international assistance to support education-in-crisis programs. In the United States, the Education for All Act was introduced in Congress. The legislation seeks to provide $10 billion over the next five years for education, prioritize education in emergency response, and ensure education investment in conflict-affected countries.
At the press conference, UNHCR issued an appeal to raise $220 million for refugee education. Save the Children fully supports the UNHCR initiative and its work to raise awareness of the immense need for education for children in conflict-affected areas.
In areas of war and conflict, education is often among the first casualties. Schools close, teachers flee or are recruited into the military, and school systems are no longer funded. This puts children at risk, making them easier targets for recruitment as child soldiers, or exploitation as cheap labor. It also increases their vulnerability to trafficking and abuse.
"Every child has the right to an education, and that is why we are so grateful to the UNHCR and former President Bill Clinton for working to ensure that children affected by war are not left behind," said Charles MacCormack, President and CEO of Save the Children USA. "This year's CGI forum will give us the opportunity to renew our pledge to rewrite the future for millions of children in war zones by expanding our education programs in conflict-affected countries. Education must remain a cornerstone of any agenda that seeks to protect children and foster peace in their worlds."
Examples of Rewrite the Future's impact in specific conflict-affected regions across the world include:
- Afghanistan: Increased girls' access to school by training female teachers, supporting single-sex schools, and working with the governments and communities to support girls' education.
- Darfur: Built and opened several new schools, including pre-schools, and established many safe-spaces for children in the area. Thousands of children have been able to attend school for the first time in years.
- Haiti: Worked with an interactive radio program to reinforce math and language instruction in 70 primary schools.
- Jordan/Iraq: Supported kindergartens and other early childhood education centers for displaced Iraqi children and advocated for regional solutions that protect externally displaced Iraqi children until they can return home.
- Nepal: Developed the "Schools as Zones of Peace" concept. Now 258 schools have been declared as 'zones of peace' and 350 have declared themselves "non-violent teaching schools."
- Uganda: Built nearly 100 new classrooms.
Education is essential to protecting children during conflict and to rebuilding nations in its aftermath. It is a key to alleviating poverty and reducing the risks of perpetual conflict by helping lay the groundwork for personal growth, economic growth and political development.
