© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1630/PirozziStudents listen to a lecture in a life-skills class in Keren Junior School in the city of Keren, Anseba Region

By Miriam Mareso

Halima, a shy 11-year-old, is among the first groups of children who have been enrolled in a new elementary school in Jengerjiba. A small village located 110 kilometres from the capital Asmara, Jengerjiba is dotted with mud huts and concrete houses. The closest primary school is more than 10 kilometres away, a distance which has long hampered access to primary education for many local children.