Dubai Cares part of Dh73 million investment into education for displaced children

Initial programmes will cover education for children in Lebanon, Niger and Sierra Leone, with more areas to be announced later this year.

Powered by automated translation

DUBAI // Children displaced by conflict or poverty are being given the chance of an education thanks to three new projects by government charity Dubai Cares and a Dh73.4 million investment.

Initial programmes will cover education for children in Lebanon, Niger and Sierra Leone, with more areas to be announced later this year.

Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, also announced a month-long community awareness and fundraising campaign, known as #LastILearned in support of its education in emergencies strategy.

The campaign is being supported by the International Rescue Committee, with donations from sponsors Al Ansari Exchange, Lulu Group International and Noor Al Ghafari, on behalf of Waleed Al Ghafari.

“We are grateful to Dubai Cares for their strong commitment to education in emergencies,” said Jennifer Sklar, deputy director of education at International Rescue Committee.

“Through the Education in Emergencies: Evidence for Action (3EA) initiative we will ensure that children and youth exposed to years of war-related traumas will have access to safe and predictable learning opportunities that teach them both the academic and social-emotional skills they need to learn and thrive.

“We hope this initiative will jump-start change in the humanitarian sector and develop the knowledge and evidence we need to inform global policy and practice.”

The Dh8.8m programme in Lebanon aims to improve the reading, maths and social-emotional outcomes for 4,600 highly vulnerable Syrian refugee children aged 6 to 16. It also hopes to strengthen the capacity of 50 teachers and improve parent engagement in children’s learning and protection.

In Niger, 4,000 young refugees aged 6 to 14 displaced by the insecurity caused by Boko Haram’s reign across the border in Nigeria will benefit from Dh7.7m in funding to improve education.

It will also provide tutoring support and strengthen the capacity of 200 teachers and education authorities.

Representatives from Dubai Cares have been visiting countries around the world to witness first-hand the struggles faced by children and young adolescents caught up in conflicts.

The information collected has been used to guide its policy in helping as many children as possible in the worst-hit areas where there is greatest need for support.

According to the United Nations, one in 113 people are either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum, and more than half of the world’s refugees are children. The average length of displacement today has reached 17 years and the average length of conflict today is 37 years.

newsdesk@thenational.ae