At a glance: Belgium

Belgium’s Princess Mathilde supports girls’ education with visit to UNICEF warehouse

© AP/John McConnico

Princess Mathilde of Belgium visits UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen to support.

COPENHAGEN, 16 December 2004 – Her Royal Highness, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, visited UNICEF’s supply headquarters in Copenhagen on December 7. The visit, organized by the Belgium National Committee for UNICEF, is part of their “Education, My Right!” campaign.

The Princess actively supports the campaign, which was launched on October 13 of this year and is aimed at enrolling more children in developing countries into schools.

During her visit, Princess Mathilde took a tour of the warehouse, which is the size of three football fields and contains essential supplies for children and their families. She paid special attention to the school-in-a-box kit, which contains items from pencils to blackboards. One kit enables 80 children to continue their schooling during emergency situations. The school-in-a-box kit is the centrepiece of UNICEF Belgium’s “Education, My Right!” campaign.

© AP/John McConnico

Princess Mathilde looks inside a school-in-a-box kit, which contains education supplies for 80 children and one teacher.

More than 120 million children worldwide, most of them girls, are not being educated. The “Education, My Right!” campaign raises funds to support educational programmes in three countries: Niger, Romania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Princess Mathilde also met with Supply Division's Director Alan Court, and learned about the crucial role Supply Division plays. In times of emergency, Supply Division can respond within 48 hours and dispatch supplies for children in need.

Princess Mathilde has been involved with UNICEF activities since 2001. She first participated the launch of the “Say Yes! for Children” campaign held in Brussels, and later visited Niger in early 2004 to raise awareness on girls’ education. Princess Mathilde is committed to giving UNICEF and the children of the world her continuous support.

 

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