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Lebanese pupils return to war-ravaged schools

25 Oct 2006 13:38:45 GMT
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)

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The rubble of a school in Margeyoun that was damaged by the war.
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

Over 1,400 children and families registered in World Vision programmes in southern Lebanon will benefit from a $170,000 grant from an international pharmaceutical company as they prepare to begin school in difficult post-war conditions

'In Marjeyoun, 1,400 children will benefit from school clothes and educations supplies made possible by the Johnson and Johnson grant,' said Hanna Swidan, Marjeyoun Area Development Programme (ADP) manager. 'Many schools that were hit have been rendered unusable by heavy debris in classrooms and irreparable damage to furniture and supplies.'

'For many children, seeing their school in rubble has greatly saddened them and taken away their enthusiasm to begin a new year of studies,' Swidan said. 'This is why this grant is so important and will help us lift the morale of those children. We hope this grant will lead to an emergence of hope within the children of the community.'

According to the Lebanese government approximately US$70 million dollars is needed to rebuild the country's education system. Fifty schools were entirely destroyed and 300 sustained major damage during the conflict in the south of the country.

'Money is needed for reconstruction and repair of schools, the purchase of school furniture and for training teachers to assist students affected by the war,' said Education Minister Khaled Qabbani recently.

Habitable schools will take turns hosting two groups of classes in the same day, while some children will be unable to go to school in their own villages and will have to be transported to a nearby location where a school remains standing.

In addition to providing clothing and materials for children in the south through the grant from Johnson and Johnson, World Vision Lebanon will clean and repair 15 schools and three other public facilities in East Sidon Area Development Programme, Ain El Roummaneh ADP, Armenia ADP and Beirut ADP that were damaged when they served as shelters for internally displaced people (IDPs) during the crisis.

These buildings were transformed into temporary shelters for around 150,000 people who were displaced during the war. This project is possible through a US$164,000 grant from World Vision US and will start Nov. 15.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Wed Oct 25 15:07:40 2006