Listed below are feature stories detailing the efforts of students, teachers, communities and the development professionals community to restore education systems in countries around the globe.
DONGO, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 9 June 2011 – “Children are the first victims of this conflict. We have a shared responsibility to build a better future worthy of them,” said UNICEF Representative in DR Congo Pierrette Vu Thi on a visit to Dongo in north-western Equateur province this week.
During the trip, Ms. Vu Thi and the Minister of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity, Ferdinand Kambere, saw first-hand the effects of violence and ensuing displacement.
BOSSASO, Somalia, 26 May 2011 – In classroom number two at a primary school located in Shabelle camp for displaced people in Bossaso, Deputy Headmaster and maths teacher Abdijabar Odol Mohamed has neatly written down a set of quizzes on the blackboard.
He reads one of the questions out loud. The children raise their hands and compete to answer. Mr. Odol points at one of the students, who eagerly shouts the correct answer. “Bravo!” he says.
Pakistan, MULTAN, 26 May 2011 – Devastating floods hit Punjab province in Pakistan and left over 2,000 schools either fully or partially damaged. Thousands of students and hundreds of teachers were displaced.
GENEVA, Switzerland, 23 May 2011 – Children make up more than half the population in countries predicted to be most affected by climate change and are facing increasing impacts from tumultuous events. It is estimated that as many as 175 million children a year will soon be affected by disasters.
LACLUBAR, TIMOR-LESTE, 13 May 2011 – High along the mountainous spine of Timor-Leste, nestled under the canopy of tall trees, classes at Batara school are back in session. It is a sign of normalcy masking a darker chapter of history that is only beginning to fade.
5 May 2011 – UNICEF’s Edward Bally reports on schools re-opening in post-crisis Côte d’Ivoire.
By Edward Bally
MAN, Côte d’Ivoire, 11 May 2011 – Ange Michel Kouakou, 13, is enjoying her first day back at school in Koumassi in the city of Abidjan. She’s only recently returned after escaping violence that hit her neighbourhood. For the last two months, she took shelter in her father’s village in eastern Côte d’Ivoire, where the situation was less tense.
