USAID AND UNICEF DONATE INFORMATIC KITS TO 150 SCHOOLS IN BIH

Sarajevo, October 20, 2021; Today, the USAID Mission Director to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Courtney Chubb, and the UNICEF Education specialist, Ms. Sanja Kabil, handed over a donation of six IT sets to the representatives of Elementary School “Avdo Smajlovic”, each consisting of a laptop, operating system and related accessories. .

The event to present a valuable donation was also attended by the Minister of Education of Sarajevo Canton, Naida Hota-Muminović, and the school director, Hašim Baždar.

This donation is an integral part of the project "Strengthening Social and Health Protection in BiH, in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic", which has been implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the past six months, thanks to USAID funds provided to UNICEF.

Within the project, 150 primary and secondary schools will be supplied with equipment worth $ 720,000, and in the first phase, eight schools in Sarajevo Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Posavina Canton and Brcko District will receive the equipment.

"COVID-19 has had many ill effects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including disrupting the education of the nation's children. The ICT equipment being handed over today is one way the United States and USAID are supporting education and the development of BiH and fighting the pandemic.", said USAID Mission Director, Ms. Courtney Chubb.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic disruptions in the education process, but at the same time created an opportunity to reimagine the education process itself, by overcoming barriers to accessing digital content and teaching.

“During the pandemic, which is still ongoing, about 35% of students experienced difficulties in accessing online teaching, and about 400,000 children were completely without access to schools for almost two months. Our goal is to provide every child with access and continuity of learning, and to provide schools with the necessary equipment and knowledge, which will improve the options of blended teaching and provide better, inclusive content, "said Sanja Kabil from UNICEF.

In the implementation of this project, the commitment of the partners, i.e. line ministries, and the readiness of the school management for cooperation in this process is of the outmost importance.

"Sarajevo Canton, like the whole world, has gone through an accelerated process of informatization and digitalization during the pandemic. Fast changes have happened, and additional technical equipment is what need now, in addition to knowledge. We are grateful to USAID, UNICEF and to all affiliated organizations, working intensively to improve technical conditions in schools. In the period since I became a Minister, I visit schools, and there is a lot of work to improve conditions ", said the Minister of Education of Sarajevo Canton Naida Hota-Muminović, emphasizing that the ambience has never experienced such a transformation from one  social economic system to another:

“Many schools have remained in the past. We cannot talk about the transformation of the mind and preparation for life in the 21st century without the ambience and equipment of the 21st century. In that sense, we will continue to address you as our partners and appreciate all the support you provide to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sarajevo Canton."

Hašim Baždar, the Principal of the elementary school "Avdo Smailović" expressed gratitude for the valuable donation, concluding that the new equipment will make the teaching process easier for all.

The objective of the Project "Strengthening Social and Health Care in BiH, in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic" is to strengthen existing services in the health, education and social protection sectors, in order to adequately respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic, yet focusing on children and families.