“I want to help people and I don’t want to see anyone suffering in any way”

“I want to help people. I don’t want to see anyone suffering in any way,” says Meseret, a 13-year-old girl displaced by the northern Ethiopia conflict from the Kobo town of Amhara region. 

Meseret fled her village in March this year for safety after conflict-ravaged her life. She and her family- her parents and five siblings- had to travel for days moving from one small town to another without enough food. Finally, they settled at the Jarra Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) site, where over 28,000 conflict-affected people are staying. 

“Back in the village, I left my friends, cousins, and neighbors. I miss them so much. I miss playing outside on the field. I hope one day I will be able to go back to our village, and things will be just like they were before the conflict. I want peace,” says Meseret.

But a chance for education for Mereret comes at a place that she did not expect to happen. UNICEF, with support from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and in partnership with an NGO called Imagine One Day Ethiopia, set up the Bete (my home) learning programme for children affected by the conflict in Jarra IDP site. Bete is designed to provide a safe space for boys and girls to access education and child protection services. 

UNICEF also provided school furniture and learning materials to the children. Facilitators were recruited and trained to teach in the Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP). The training for facilitators and education personnel includes topics on child rights, child-friendly pedagogy, assessment for learning, mental health, and psychosocial support services to enhance the quality of learning and the resilience of distressed children affected by the conflict. 

Meseret joined the Bete Programme with 327 other children (122 girls) in Jarra. “Our teacher went door to door and convinced families to send us [children] to school instead of letting us sit at home doing nothing,” adds Meseret. Since then, she has been attending class with her friends while dealing with the trauma of conflict and displacement.  

Yet, she is happy to be in school and with children her age. Her favorite subjects are Amharic and English. After school, she also supports her mother with the household chores.

“I want to study and finish my education. I want to create a better future for myself and other children displaced like me."

Other than CERF funding the Bete Programme in Amhara Region is supported as well Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Finland, Norway and UK PPL (People's Postcode Lottery) through the UNICEF national committee for the United Kingdom.