Photo by Andy Hall
After nine years of conflict, the situation in Syria remains one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time, and children are paying the heaviest price. Over 5.8 million school-aged children and about 245,000 education personnel need education assistance in Syria. 2.1 million children are out of school, and an additional 1.3 million are at risk of dropping out because more than one out of three schools is damaged or destroyed (United Nations Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019).
Access to safe and quality educational opportunities remains a challenge for children and youth in Syria. Due to the shortage of functional classrooms, classes are still overcrowded, teaching capacity remains overstretched, and the barriers to access quality and relevant learning for children inside Syria are complex.
To sustain safe, quality and equitable access to learning opportunities, AVSI Syria is implementing in 2020 a new education project, financed by OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). The initiative targets almost 1,000 crisis-affected children in the sub-district of Nashabieh in Eastern Ghouta, a countryside area that surrounds the city of Damascus.
The project, implemented with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE), will rehabilitate four schools in the area. AVSI will provide new supplies, remedial classes, catch-up courses and psychosocial activities for children, and quality training for teachers and volunteers.