UAE | Government
Dubai Cares helps 460 Palestinians return to school
Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip returned to school on Sunday in child-friendly classrooms provided by Dubai Cares, resuming an academic year disrupted by a devastating war that destroyed much of Gaza's schools and civilian infrastructure.
- Staff Report
- Published: 23:11 March 8, 2009
Dubai: Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip returned to school on Sunday in child-friendly classrooms provided by Dubai Cares, resuming an academic year disrupted by a devastating war that destroyed much of Gaza's schools and civilian infrastructure.
Their return coincides with the arrival of a second Dubai Cares aid shipment into Gaza that includes more modular schools and hygiene and school kits.
The school facilities occupy about 800 square metres of land and comprise 11 classrooms, two bathrooms for boys and girls and an administration room and can accommodate up to 460 students.
Assembled within 72 hours, the schools were designed to Dubai Cares' specifications for rapid response interventions. The Dubai-based charitable establishment's two shipments to Gaza - the first arriving on February 27, are each the equivalent of 14 truckloads.
Reem Al Hashemi, Chairperson of the Dubai Cares Board of Directors, said: "From the onset of the war, Dubai Cares' prime concern was - and remains, the safety and wellbeing of Gaza's children, innocent victims who found themselves in the centre of a quickly unfolding humanitarian disaster with far-reaching consequences. Today, Gaza's children are resuming their educational development in the protective environment of classrooms, which will empower them to overcome the trauma they suffered during the war."
The Dubai Cares temporary school is located in the Jabaliya refugee camp, where a number of schools - including the ones established and operated by the United Nations, were destroyed. Since the ceasefire on January 18, 2009, schools that escaped damage began accepting students from throughout the strip, adding pressure on an education system already dealing with difficult conditions prior to the war.
Reem added: "Without a doubt, Gaza's education system has sustained severe damage, aggravating an already difficult situation for the children of Gaza.."
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