Adjusting to life in a camp in the Niger is difficult, for Malian refugee children – but school provides a place to learn, play and forge friendships.

By Shushan Mebrahtu

UNICEF correspondent Chris Niles reports on a UNICEF-supported programme in the Niger ensuring that Malian refugee children are able to continue their education.

MANGAIZE, Niger, 1 March 2013 – It is the first day of class for Malian refugee children at the primary school in Mangaize camp.

Adjusting to a new life in the camp, which stretches over the Sahara Desert, is not easy, particularly for children who have escaped the violence back home.

But, at this school, they are trying to return to normalcy. They are excited to learn, play and socialize with their friends.

Compendium: Transitional Learning Spaces

NEW YORK, New York, 7 September 2012 – We would like to invite you to participate in the second Compendium of Transitional Learning Spaces (TLS) in emergency situations for the year 2012. Last year’s publication was a great collaborative success and is accessible here and is also available on the UNICEF website

Please reach out to your contacts and networks and pass on this call for entries and attachments with the following information:

By Andy Brown

© UNICEF Philippines/2012/Brown
Ten-year-old Joy with her grandfather at the evacuation centre in Barangay Mandulog, Philippines.

ILIGAN, Philippines, 16 March 2012 – Ten-year-old Joy Crizelle lives with her grandfather, sister, two aunts and uncles, and a nephew in a small one-room hut at an evacuation centre in Barangay Mandulog, in Iligan. Their village was one of the worst affected by the flash floods that followed Tropical Storm Washi in December.

“We were asleep in our house when the flood came,” Joy said. “We had to leave immediately. My grandfather brought blankets for me and my sister, but we left everything else behind. I was very scared. It was dark and the water was rising, and I could hear people crying out for help.”

By Philippa Day

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines, 20 March 2012 – Twelve-year-old Hannah Monsalan lives in Mandulog, one of the villages worst-hit by the flash floods that swept through northern Mindanao in December, following Tropical Storm Washi. The equivalent of one month’s rain fell overnight, swelling the Mandulog river to a destructive torrent, which crushed hundreds of families’ homes.

Hannah’s own small home was picked up by the swirling floodwaters and smashed into a large coconut tree. She survived by clinging to a small tree until she could be rescued. “I was swimming and I was screaming. And then I could no longer find my mother,” she said. “My hair got stuck in a pile of wood, and I was suddenly under water. I thought it was the end for me. Then I swam for safety.”

Her mother did not make it.

And in the wake of the disaster, her entire community was left vulnerable, surrounded by stagnant water and threatened by waterborne diseases. Many families were without shelter, and many children were burdened by their memories of the floods.

By Samir Badran

© UNICEF 2012/Jordan/Raji
Displaced Syrian children receive psychosocial care at a UNICEF-supported facility in Ma'an, Jordan.

MA’AN, Jordan, 8 March 2012 – On a cold February day, Syrian refugee children and their parents gathered at the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) Centre, a UNICEF partner, in the southern Jordanian town of Ma’an.

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.