As a UNICEF Education Manager in Gaza, I find myself amid one of the most challenging environments imaginable. The situation here is dire, marked by the constant sound of bombs and artillery fire.
The need for shelter is so great that the few schools not damaged or destroyed are being used by internally displaced people. Children have missed nearly an entire school year, with little hope of return to learning anytime soon.
Instead of learning and playing, children are supporting their families - spending long hours queuing for water, carrying loads far too heavy, or caring for younger siblings. Colleagues have witnessed heart-breaking scenes of children being evacuated from North to South Gaza clinging to white handkerchiefs in the hope that it might protect them from harm - at an age when they should not even understand the significance of a white flag.
Right to education denied
Teachers and their students have been killed and so-called “safe spaces” for children to learn are not being respected in the ongoing hostilities. Reaching the children most in need is incredibly challenging. Urgent and critical education supplies are not entering Gaza and are not available on the local market. Finding open areas to establish safe learning spaces is near impossible with rubble from flattened buildings everywhere. Whenever a space is found and some semblance of a safe learning space is established, evacuation orders are soon issued, forcing families to leave. Then the whole process starts again.
Being out of school since October 2023, has been devastating for children. They face increased protection risks and are not only denied their right to education but also their right to safety, health, play and future opportunities.
As a former teacher, I know the longer children stay out of school, the more likely they are to never return and to miss out on learning, and to miss out on critical nutrition and health services that schools provide. This could have lifelong impacts. Children in Gaza are demonstrating high levels of distress due to the cumulative exposure to traumatic experiences, death, and violence. Nearly every single child in Gaza today needs urgent mental health and psychosocial support.
Providing hope through education
Even amid all this devastation and insecurity, children remain eager to learn. Every time I meet with children and caregivers they ask when they can go back to school. It is not only water, food, shelter, and health that is being prioritized by children, families, and communities. Education and the stability and future opportunities that it provides, is also a priority.
"I miss going to school and would love to return to education. My mom is a teacher, and she teaches me at home. I enjoy learning with her more than fetching water and gathering wood for cooking.”
Yamen’s father follows up by telling me that, “My wife is doing her best to make up for the learning loss our child is experiencing. While it helps, it isn't as effective as having our child learn in a classroom with peers in a proper educational setting."
While it is good to hear Yamen is learning at home, not every child is as fortunate to have a parent who can try to fill the role of a teacher.
UNICEF, through its partners is supporting community learning initiatives. The rapid growth of such initiatives, 84 at the end of August 2024, reflects the strong demand for education within the community. Education has emerged as a significant priority, with many individuals and groups actively mobilizing to address this need.
To further support children like Yamen, UNICEF and its partners are providing vital mental health and psychosocial support to children and adolescents. This includes stress relief, socio-emotional learning and playful learning activities that foster a sense of safety and normalcy, to support their well-being, resilience and learning as they navigate the challenges of living in crisis.
Yet, learning cannot happen in isolation, which is why a holistic, multi-sectoral approach is essential. UNICEF is actively supporting families and their children through cash incentives and multi-purpose cash transfers to address food insecurity. Alongside this, efforts are focused on improving water and sanitation and strengthening health services. UNICEF and the World Food Programme are working together to ensure that children returning to learning receive high-energy biscuits.
Community initiatives vary widely in terms of their size and the services they offer. These can range from informal learning opportunities to more structured educational programmes. The diversity of these initiatives is influenced by the background and resources of the organizers, which can include families, individuals, or educators. One such example is the establishment of temporary learning spaces, led by a university lecturer, which has profoundly impacted the community. The lecturer mobilized volunteer teachers and secured 10 tents to set up classrooms supporting over 700 children.
“[After] more than four months without learning, … our students feel very happy to be here and they want to learn.”
For these efforts to continue and be scaled up, urgent funding is needed to support the 625,000 children who have been unable to attend school since October 2023. Essential supplies must reach those most in need, restoring their dignity and enabling families to care for their children.
We cannot wait until there is a ceasefire to resume learning. Children in Gaza need our help now.
Jane Courtney is an Education Manager at UNICEF
