By Eva Gilliam

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 9 November 2011 – For hundreds of thousands of displaced Somali children, daily life is a mixture of fear and insecurity. Communities break apart, as one by one families leave their villages to flee ongoing conflict. If they survive the journey to Mogadishu, life is not much easier, as they are faced with the daily challenge of finding food and shelter.

© UNICEF Afghanistan/2011/Froutan
Nafissa hopes to be educated and become an important person in her community through education.

The Global Partnership for Education has helped more than 19 million children go to school for the first time. A campaign to renew support for these efforts culminates in a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November 2011. This series of stories seeks to highlight the Partnership’s work during this critical time.

By Abdul Aziz Froutan

PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afganistan, 8 November 2011 – In a neat, well designed classroom in the Panjshir Valley, 30 girls listen intently as their female teacher instructs them in grammar and writing. Although common today, this was largely unheard of only a decade ago. Under Taliban rule, schooling in Afghanistan was nearly brought to a complete halt, and many girls were expressly forbidden from receiving an education.

© Anders Thormann/2011
Anthony Lake speaks at GPE Pledging Conference in Copenhagen.

By Joan Howe

Copenhagen, 9 November 2011 – Leading donors at the first-ever Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Pledging Conference promised an initial US$1.5 billion over the next three years to put millions more children in school.

The multi-partner global partnership met on 7-8 November in Copenhagen, Denmark, where donors also pledged to increase bilateral funding to support education investment and achieve concrete results in access and quality of education. The pooled education fund aims to secure predictable funding to put 25 million more children in school over the next three years. Developing countries pledged to increase domestic funding for education by more than US$2 billion.

By Bismarck Swangin

RENK, South Sudan, 2 November 2011 – Three months after South Sudan separated from Sudan, becoming an independent nation, many South Sudanese are struggling to return home.

Since June, almost 20,000 returnees have streamed into Renk, a rural town near the Sudan-South Sudan border. Most say they could only afford transportation to Renk and don’t have the means to continue on to their final destinations. In addition, roads are non-existent in this part of South Sudan, where most of the land is submerged in flood waters during the rainy season. Traveling farther south by Nile River barge can take weeks.

The Global Partnership for Education will hold a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November.

Media Advisory

What:

Global Partnership for Education Replenishment Conference.

Who:

Global leaders and innovators from the United Nations, academia, the development community and the private sector including:

The Global Partnership for Education has helped more than 19 million children go to school for the first time. A campaign to renew support for these efforts will culminate in a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November. This series of stories seeks to highlight the Partnership’s work in the lead-up to this event.

By Tapuwa L. Mutseyekwa

© UNICEF Zimbabwe/2010/Mutseyekwa
Esnat was left all alone with the few possessions her mother had.