Dubai: A Dubai charity has launched a Dh9.1 million programme to help 25,000 schoolchildren in Nepal, a country still left reeling from last year’s devastating earthquake.
The three-year programme, announced by Dubai Cares on Wednesday, aims to rebuild and renovate 10 schools and boost literacy in 100 more.
“Natural disasters such as Nepal’s devastating earthquake are in the international headlines for a few weeks, but after that the real work of rebuilding the fractured communities must begin,” said Dubai Cares chief Tareq Al Gurg.
The charity “intends to help children go back to school to minimise disruption of their education and exposure to risks of neglect, exploitation and trafficking”, he added.
The literacy programme is aimed to benefit 20,000 children between the ages of four and ten. The schools that will be rebuilt and renovated are based in Nuwakot district, one of the quake-hit areas, which is aimed to help 5,000 children.
Last year, a massive, 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit a vast, mountainous region between Kathmandu, the country’s capital, and the city of Pokhara. A severe aftershock followed a few days later bringing the death toll to more than 8,800 people, of which 2,300 were children.
More than 875,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as schools, medical facilities and other infrastructure.
About one million students were left without access to school, 32,000 classrooms were destroyed, and an additional 15,000 were damaged. The earthquake was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal in the past 80 years.
The charity’s Nepal programme also aims to support the long-term response in favour of children who experienced psychological distress following the earthquake.
Saeed Hamdan, the UAE’s envoy to Nepal, said that the charity’s efforts in Nepal “reflect the principles of the UAE leadership and people’s commitment to supporting countries make progress”.
The programme is part of the charity’s Education in Emergencies drive, which aims to educate children and youth exposed to years of either conflict or natural disasters.
In October, the charity launched an awareness and fundraising campaign in Dubai, #LastIlearned.
