UNRWA PROVIDES BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO 263,229 STUDENTS IN GAZA
30 August 2016
The UNRWA education programme in Gaza has worked hard to prepare for the start of the 2016/17 school year this week, ensuring that Palestine refugee children have the opportunity to learn through classroom education.
On 28 August, 263,229 students returned to 267 UNRWA schools in Gaza.
UNRWA is giving students returning to its schools free school supplies, including Arabic and English exercise books, pens and pencils.
There are 8,529 dedicated UNRWA teachers who facilitate the education of Palestine refugee students in all five areas of the Gaza Strip, led by 247 school principals and 265 deputy school principals.
Students return after a summer break that commenced in late May. To provide further support during the summer break, the summer learning programme ran in 120 learning centres for three weeks.
Moreover, as the community continues to cope with the aftermath of the 2014 conflict, the summer fun weeks were held for three weeks following Ramadan. This provided an opportunity for refugee children in the Gaza Strip to access psychosocial support and gave them a chance to play and just be kids.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall, projected for 2016 to stand at US$ 96.5 million. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s Programme Budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
Najwa Sheikh Ahmad
Acting Public Information Officer – Gaza Field Office
Mobile:
+972 597 920 542
Office:
+972 8 2887 488
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Education and culture, Gaza Strip
Publication Date: 30/08/2016