Gaza Strip - Recent

Since a brutal Israel-Hamas war began last October, more than 600,000 children in the Gaza Strip have been out of school. Nearly one year into the conflict, some students now can access to some learning activities thanks to an education initiative launched by the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA.

The UNRWA Back to Learning program is starting with 45 schools which have been transformed into homeless shelters and will gradually expand to 94 schools (benefiting approximately 28,000 children), providing games, drama, arts, music and sports activities to try to mitigate the war's impact on children's mental health.

Restarting informal learning activities does not in any way replace formal education for the children of Gaza. It's a start on a long road ahead to make up for education losses among children, the UN agency said.

Children in the Gaza Strip make up half the population, or over 1 million people. Since the war began, they have been witnessing what no child should live through. They were forced to flee their homes, have lost loved ones, and had no sufficient access to food, water, and other essentials. Amid all this devastation and insecurity, they remain eager to learn.

At a school in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, some 20 teachers give Arabic, English, and math classes for about 300 students of all ages. There's no bell to mark the start and end of a class, no chairs or desks. The students, desperate for any semblance of a routine from before the war, use whatever paper they can find and a pencil to write down the day's lesson.

Since last October, more than 25,000 school-age children have been killed or injured in Israeli military attacks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, while the UN said that 261 teachers and 95 university professors were killed in the first six months of the crisis alone.

The last 11 months have had a devastating impact on Gaza's educational infrastructure. Around 90 percent of Gaza's 307 government school buildings have been destroyed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, and all of Gaza's 12 universities have been damaged or destroyed.

Shotlist:
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip - Recent:
1. Various of Gaza children having class;
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mira Abu Sultan, Gaza student:
"I've learned a lot, especially the knowledge I had learned before but had forgotten. Now we're reviewing it again in school. We've also learned a lot of useful knowledge.";
3. Various of Gaza children having class;
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muhammad Salami, father of Gaza students (ending with shot 5):
"Thanks to the UN for this project. It allows our children to continue their study. But the reality is cruel, especially for me and other displaced people. The future of children is full of uncertainty.";
5. Various of Gaza children writing on paper;
6. Various of Gaza children having class;
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ismail al-Thawabta, spokesman, Gaza's government media office (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"We have many institutions implementing such education programs. But these programs cannot replace the formal mainstream education system, that is, students return to school to receive formal education. We once again call for an end to the war, and a stop to the attacks on the education system so that students can return to school to study.";
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
8. Teacher checking student's homework;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
9. Various of Gaza children having class.

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