Gaza
For many of the more than 230,000 Palestine refugee kids attending UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools in Gaza, even getting to the classroom can be a challenge. If schools are located too far away, kids may have to walk long distances; along the way, they confront traffic, road accidents, severe weather and other challenges. With all the obstacles confronting their right to education, getting to school shouldn’t be hard. That’s becoming a little easier thanks to a new donation from KfW, the German Development Bank, which made it possible for UNRWA to build a number of new schools.
They’re already having an impact. One parent, Hani Abdel Bari, explains that moving to the new, closer Zaitoun Elementary Boys’ ‘B’, in Tal El Hawa, south of Gaza City, has made his son a more well-adjusted and high-performing student. He added that it’s become easier for him and his wife to communicate with the school and manage their son’s education. Another parent, Hanin al-Sammak, agreed. Her son used to go to a private school, but now, with the shorter commute, “I can communicate more with my son, and I have more time to follow up and supervise his lessons.”
Two fifth-graders, Samih Yaghi and Majd al-Ifranji, are excited. Samih notes that now he gets to school on time, not tired from the long commute, while his friend is happy to have more time for hobbies. Parents, too, have benefited: Escorting his son to a faraway school every morning made Hani Abdel Bari late to work on several occasions. For parents busy trying to educate their children and earn a living, every little bit helps.
Um Ali’s daughter Dina attends a new girls’ school, Al Amal Elementary. She used to spend a lot of time taking her daughter back and forth to school. Now, she can pay more attention to Dina’s education. Um Ali says, “I notice significant improvements in her achievement, and I thank UNRWA for their tireless efforts to improve students’ education.”
A third-grader at Al Amal, Zinab Radi, expresses the joy Gaza kids feel with their new schools. “I really like my school, my teachers and my friends. I’m very happy with it. I arrive on time and save a lot of time to do my homework and practise different activities”, she says, looking forward to new opportunities and new challenges in a brand-new school.