MOZAMBIQUE: SENDING 30,000 CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER CYCLONE IDAI

Recent estimates from the Government of Mozambique indicate that 3,504 classrooms were either destroyed or damaged when Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique on March 15, disrupting the education of more than 335,000 girls and boys. After responding to the disaster with first aid intervention and focusing on family reunification, AVSI is now working on a long-term response to reopen 22 schools and send at least 30,000 children back to class. Funded by Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for education in emergencies, the intervention will support children living in Beira and Nhamatanda, in the Sofala region, the most affected by the cyclone.

“These schools are among the most affected infrastructures in this region. Some have been destroyed or badly damaged by the cyclone, many others were used for weeks as reception centers for displaced people,” explains AVSI Mozambique representative, Martina Zavagli. “With our intervention, we want to restore the quality of education received by students in this region, despite the state of emergency.”