Over the past 15 months, children in Gaza have been trapped in a nightmare. They have been bombed, starved and forcibly displaced. They’ve seen their friends and relatives killed, and their homes and schools reduced to rubble.
More than 650,000 children have now been out of formal schooling for at least 15 months. Many of them also missed out on at least a year of school during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The lost education will affect the rest of their lives.
10-year-old Jinan lost everything when her home was bombed. After her school was also bombed, she joined Islamic Relief’s educational programmes.
We have been running informal classes teaching young children basic literacy and numeracy skills during the crisis, as well as lessons for high school students in Gaza’s south and Middle Area.
“I am very happy to be studying again. We study English, Arabic and maths. They also provide us with play and games alongside our education,” Jinan says.
Jinan is one of thousands of children who have benefitted from our literacy and numeracy lessons
Nowhere in Gaza has been truly safe, but by providing a relatively safe and stable environment, our classes offer children a brief respite from the dire ongoing situation and has allowed them to continue their academic and psychological development.
An education system in tatters
Despite the ceasefire, it is difficult for most children to return to school immediately.
The challenge of getting children back into education is that few schools and teachers remain.
At least 519 teachers and other educational staff have been killed, and more than 2,700 have been injured.
At least 88% of school buildings are reportedly damaged or destroyed. They need either full reconstruction or significant repairs.
51 university buildings have also been destroyed, and another 57 damaged.
Rebuilding Gaza’s schools
The scale of destruction and killing of so many teachers means that rebuilding Gaza’s education system will take many years.
As we pray for lasting peace, our £60 million recovery plan includes helping children return to school. As soon as we can, we will rebuild, repair and equip schools, beginning with those with relatively minor damage.
We also aim to kickstart children’s education by distributing stationery and school bags, and providing schools with furniture and equipment.