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Gazan Children Return to School
Save the Children Assisting Gazan School Children Following Cessation of Violence
JERUSALEM (Jan. 26, 2009) — Thousands of Gazan children returned to school this past Saturday when schools reopened their doors for the first time since the escalation of violence on Dec. 27, 2008. The global humanitarian organization Save the Children is assisting them by providing school supplies, setting up child-friendly spaces and arranging psychosocial support as they begin to rebuild their lives.
"Children are incredibly resilient if given the proper care and support - even those living amid conflict. One of the first steps in helping children recover is to get them back into school and resuming their normal routine," said Brenda Haiplik, Save the Children's emergency education adviser. "School also provides a natural support structure, where children can share their experiences with friends and teachers, and know that they're not alone in how they feel."
Save the Children, along with UNICEF, is co-leading the effort to determine the needs of school children and the education system, and to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to ensure Gaza's children return to school and normalcy. The initiative involves UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, donors and other parties working in education.
Overcoming Emotional Trauma
Save the Children's Gaza-based staff have begun to conduct rapid assessments of student's needs. Early findings from Save the Children staff indicate that children and teachers are extremely distressed, with many children saying they are afraid to return to school and unable to focus on schoolwork. In addition, school supplies have been destroyed or left behind, along with clothing, as children and their families fled their homes for shelters.
To respond to these needs, Save the Children plans to work with local community partners to provide psychosocial support to children, parents and teachers. One approach will include adding a psychosocial aspect to the school curriculum to help children overcome their fears and ease back into school life. The agency also is preparing to set up child-friendly areas in schools, which give children a safe place to play and help them deal with the stress of their experience. Save the Children has already purchased and is assembling kits containing soccer balls, jump ropes, crayons, coloring books, sidewalk chalk and other items to be taken into Gaza and used at child-friendly areas. In addition, Save the Children is arranging to procure and provide school supplies such as school bags, notebooks, textbooks, pens and pencils.
Coping With a Dangerous Environment
According to the Ministry of Education's early assessment, seven of Gaza's 621 schools have been completely destroyed, and 164 have been damaged and must be made safe before children can return.
"While we are delighted to see so many children go back to school, we also want them to be safe and secure," said Haiplik. "Children are naturally curious. They may not know that the rubble, broken glass and unexploded ordnance around their schools could hurt them. They will need to understand these threats and learn to stay away from them."
Save the Children will launch an education program based on its model program in Lebanon that uses illustrations and games to teach children how to identify unexploded ordnance.
Save the Children has worked in Gaza since 1953 and has 12 staff on the ground working with local community partners on the emergency response. Since the conflict began Dec. 27, 2008, the agency has reached more than 44,000 people, half of them children, with lifesaving supplies, including food, water, plastic sheeting, plastic carpets, hygiene kits and baby kits.
Save the Children needs your support to help us meet the most critical needs of children and families in Gaza. Your donation will help us provide drinking water, improved sanitation, food distribution and other necessities.
Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading, independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has worked to improve the lives of children and their families through programs in health, education and economic opportunities, and during times of crisis and conflict. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 100 countries.
