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UNHCR and partners to bring education to nine million vulnerable children

Press Releases, 26 September 2007

Wednesday 26 September, 2007

NEW YORK, September 26 (UNHCR) – A campaign to raise US$ 220 million to help children of conflict was launched Wednesday by the UN refugee agency at the annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

Speaking at a press conference, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, called the ninemillion initiative "a means of ensuring that vulnerable children are fully able to realize their right to an education."

The ninemillion campaign aims to raise US$ 220 million by 2010 to allow nine million refugee and vulnerable children to get an education. Through its Education (Plus) programme UNHCR seeks to address all aspects of a child's educational needs, from teachers and notebooks to transportation, water and vocational training. The programme puts particular emphasis on getting girls into the classroom.

ninemillion brings together UNHCR and private sector partners Nike, Microsoft, Manpower, the advertising group WPP and GSMA, an association of mobile phone operators and equipment suppliers. "I believe the mobile industry can play an important role within the ninemillion initiative as access to telecommunications and the Internet will enable refugee children to learn about their world," said Rob Conway, CEO of GSM.

"We owe every refugee children an education to give them the tools to make a life for themselves," said David Arkless, Manpower's Senior Vice President.

The initial focus of the ninemillion campaign will be on uprooted children from Darfur, Iraq, and Colombia, which are among the world's worst displacement crises.

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UNHCR/Partners Bring Aid to North Kivu

Since 2006, renewed conflict and general insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province has forced some 400,000 people to flee their homes – the country's worst displacement crisis since the formal end of the civil war in 2003. In total, there are now some 800,000 people displaced in the province, including those uprooted by previous conflicts.

Hope for the future was raised in January 2008 when the DRC government and rival armed factions signed a peace accord. But the situation remains tense in North Kivu and tens of thousands of people still need help. UNHCR has opened sites for internally displaced people (IDPs) and distributed assistance such as blankets, plastic sheets, soap, jerry cans, firewood and other items to the four camps in the region. Relief items have also been delivered to some of the makeshift sites that have sprung up.

UNHCR staff have been engaged in protection monitoring to identify human rights abuses and other problems faced by IDPs and other populations at risk across North Kivu.

UNHCR's ninemillion campaign aims to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for nine million refugee children by 2010.

Posted on 28 May 2008

UNHCR/Partners Bring Aid to North Kivu

Iraqi Children Go To School in Syria

UNHCR aims to help 25,000 refugee children go to school in Syria by providing financial assistance to families and donating school uniforms and supplies.

There are some 1.4 million Iraqi refugees living in Syria, most having fled the extreme sectarian violence sparked by the bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samarra in 2006.

Many Iraqi refugee parents regard education as a top priority, equal in importance to security. While in Iraq, violence and displacement made it difficult for refugee children to attend school with any regularity and many fell behind. Although education is free in Syria, fees associated with uniforms, supplies and transportation make attending school impossible. And far too many refugee children have to work to support their families instead of attending school.

To encourage poor Iraqi families to register their children, UNHCR plans to provide financial assistance to at least 25,000 school-age children, and to provide uniforms, books and school supplies to Iraqi refugees registered with UNHCR. The agency will also advise refugees of their right to send their children to school, and will support NGO programmes for working children.

UNHCR's ninemillion campaign aims to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for nine million refugee children by 2010.

Iraqi Children Go To School in Syria

Education for Displaced Colombians

UNHCR works with the government of Colombia to address the needs of children displaced by violence.

Two million people are listed on Colombia's National Register for Displaced People. About half of them are under the age of 18, and, according to the Ministry of Education, only half of these are enrolled in school.

Even before displacement, Colombian children attending school in high-risk areas face danger from land mines, attacks by armed groups and forced recruitment outside of schools. Once displaced, children often lose an entire academic year. In addition, the trauma of losing one's home and witnessing extreme violence often remain unaddressed, affecting the child's potential to learn. Increased poverty brought on by displacement usually means that children must work to help support the family, making school impossible.

UNHCR supports the government's response to the educational crisis of displaced children, which includes local interventions in high-risk areas, rebuilding damaged schools, providing school supplies and supporting local teachers' organizations. UNHCR consults with the Ministry of Education to ensure the needs of displaced children are known and planned for. It also focuses on the educational needs of ethnic minorities such as the Afro-Colombians and indigenous people.

UNHCR's ninemillion campaign aims to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for nine million refugee children by 2010.

Education for Displaced Colombians

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Through ninemillion.org Paw Wah, a young refugee living in a refugee camp in Thailand is able to share with you a glimps of her life. To learn more about the ninemillion.org campaign visit the website.
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Through ninemillion.org Vusal, a young refugee living in a refugee camp in Azerbaijan is able to share with you a glimpse of his life and home. Playing football makes it a bit brighter.