Hope for the Children of Palestine

ECW funding delivered by UNRWA is providing refugee students with access to remote learning, alternative education and psychosocial support.

By Education Cannot Wait

August 27^th, 2021

Story from the field. Special contribution by UNRWA

For 3.7 million Palestine refugee children and youth, hope for a brighter future lies within education. As the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped the world and schools were closed, that hope became faint for young Palestinians left to wonder what the future of their education might be.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) serves about 5.7 million Palestinian refugees affected by displacement, conflict, high rates of unemployment and poverty in the Middle East Region – specifically in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The agency’s services encompass everything from camp infrastructure and microfinance to health care and education.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies, has provided UNRWA and other implementing partners with $18 million dollars in funds since June 2019 as a part of the Multi-Year Resilience Programme in the State of Palestine. In all, over 350,000 children and youth have been reached through school and learning centers construction, vocational trainings for at-risk children, recruitment/training of teachers and counselors, and ensuring students have the learning materials they need to learn, grow and thrive.

ECW Director Yasmine Sherif visited UNRWA schools in Ein El Hilweh to meet with Palestinian Refugees who are overcoming the additional impact of COVID-19 on their education. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

To date, the $4.5 million allocated to UNRWA has benefitted about 270,000 Palestine refugee students in Gaza and the West Bank. Support has been in the form of learning support materials distribution and the maintenance and/or refurbishing of 50 schools to further enhance access to safe, inclusive quality education. The provision of psychosocial support in response to preexisting trauma and added stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also been facilitated through the creation of 8 recreational spaces and hiring of 146 counselors in UNRWA schools.

“Children and youth in the West Bank and Gaza face significant levels of violence in their daily life. Education is a lifeline for them. We must invest in their education and their schools as safe spaces where they can learn, thrive and be empowered to realize their potentials. Their potentials are great, indeed.” ~ Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait

UNRWA school children in Ein El Hilweh, Lebanon. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

When COVID-19 hit, UNRWA adapted its education programme to the changing needs of its students. Focus was put on the Self-Learning Programme (SLP), to support the swift transitions between face-to-face, remote and hybrid learning modalities – as well as on psychosocial support and health and hygiene safety through adapted sanitation practices. ECW support helped to ensure the continuity of access to education for UNRWA students amidst this latest crisis.

In March 2020, when COVID-19 measures across the region led to the closure of all 709 UNRWA schools, eight vocational training centres and two teacher training facilities (affecting over half a million students and trainees), the Agency had to quickly identify a way to continue the provision of education services and psychosocial support remotely.

UNRWA student in Ein El Hilweh, Lebanon. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

These two services are critical for the refugee children and youth suffering under the stress and adversity of an ongoing blockade, violence, poor socio-economic conditions, the pandemic and resulting school closures. To support the continuation of these services, ECW approved a $1 million grant in April 2020, further enabling UNRWA to meet the immediate educational needs of the COVID-19 crises-affected girls and boys it serves.

In January 2021, ECW announced $1.5 million in funds to support UNRWA’s educational mission to reach young Palestine refugees in Lebanon; over 200 learning support staff were able to respond to children’s different needs and ensure their continued access to inclusive education services in Lebanon, even during challenging times.

Distribution of learning support materials to UNRWA B/Suhaila Preparatory Girls School in Gaza. © UNRWA/2020/Adwan

Five months later, an additional $1 million was allocated to UNRWA in response to the escalating crises in Gaza. The funding will improve access to learning opportunities in a safe, protective environment for the most vulnerable children and youth.

This investment aims to reach 105,500 children in the Gaza Strip (60% girls) affected by the conflict through providing individual learning materials and recreational activities. These funds will also support the rehabilitation of approximately 40 UNRWA schools in Gaza Strip.

UNRWA school in Lebanon. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

Amal Khader is a counselor at an UNRWA school in the Gaza strip. She has experienced firsthand how the pandemic and ongoing violence, displacement, bombings and attacks have affected the mental health and well-being of Palestinian refugee children and youth throughout her community.

“Dealing with the social and psychological consequences of COVID-19 has been challenging for us all: students, teachers, counselors and families. Accompanying poverty, increasing rates of unemployment, long hours of blackout, the COVID-19 quarantine and movement restrictions added additional stimuli for social and psychological distress.” ~ Amal Khader, school counselor

UNRWA school counselor Amal Khader providing social counselling to students during the COVID-19 crisis. © UNRWA/2020/Neirb

With the needs in the region rising during the pandemic, additional funding was (and continues to be) critical to ensure UNRWA is able to meet the educational needs of the Palestinian refugee girls and boys. With these regions already experiencing instability, the rise of COVID-19 cases added an extra layer of uncertainty to the 2020-2021 school year.

Many of Amal’s students expressed concerns about their future with distance learning, but Amal reassured them that their future was in safe hands.

To make certain this promise was kept, specific measures were taken to mitigate increases in school drop-out risks during school closures – including implementation of remote or hybrid learning modalities, catch-up programmes, remote psychosocial support and enhanced student health and hygiene safety.

UNRWA school girl in Ein El Hilweh, Lebanon. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

With ECW's contribution towards UNRWA's Education in Emergencies programme, over 260,000 students in Gaza continued to learn remotely or in hybrid format and over 120,000 students attended the summer catch-up programme in Gaza.

ECW funds also enabled Amal and other UNRWA school counselors to check on their students remotely and provide activities to help them cope with stress and anxiety. In Gaza, funding supported salary costs of school counselors to ensure uninterrupted essential services to more than 46,000 students and allowed for the distribution of 2G/3G internet lines to school counselors in Syria and Jordan, ensuring the availability of remote psychosocial support.

Additionally, recreational kits, psychosocial support materials and games were distributed to 265 UNRWA schools, to the benefit of 135,000 students in the West Bank and Jordan – to support students’ psychosocial wellbeing and help them remain engaged with learning at it has shifted to various modalities (face-to-face, remote and hybrid learning).

When schools were ready to reopen, ECW funding supported cleaning and disinfection materials for schools to follow COVID-19 hygiene routines in 432 UNRWA schools. This allowed 253,134 UNRWA students to return to a safe classroom environment.

UNRWA school children in Ein El Hilweh are continuing their learning, despite the impact of COVID-19 on their education. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

ECW funding helped UNWRA facilitate the safe reopening of schools for face-to-face and/or hybrid learning and, when that has not been possible, allowed for the continuation of education through self-learning and remote guidance. This joint effort ensured that more than 96% of UNRWA students returned to learning in the 2020-2021 school year.

While these investments have helped enable the continuity of quality education for many children and youth, more must be done. Even with this support from ECW and UN partners, UNRWA still needs additional funding to ensure that every Palestinian child and youth is able to access safe, inclusive, equitable quality education across the near east region.

“We must continue to work for and support Palestine refugee children and youth in Lebanon. They have an inherent human right to protection and quality education. I am especially concerned about the threat of cuts for children with disabilities, whose dreams are at stake. I therefore call on all public and private sector donors to support UNRWA and Lebanon’s education system now. By doing so, all these crisis-affected girls and boys will be able to enjoy an inclusive and quality education. All will be given an equal opportunity to become their dream.” ~ Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait

ECW Director Yasmine Sherif speaks with young children during ECW's Lebanon mission. © ECW/2020/Fouad Choufany

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