Saudi Esports Federation and King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre grant 1.7 million USD to UNICEF to strengthen emergency education in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, 29 December 2024 – The Saudi Esports Federation (SEF), through Gamers Without Borders, the largest virtual charitable event for gaming and esports, and under the supervision of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), has granted 1,705,000 USD (approximately 1 billion CFA francs) to UNICEF Burkina Faso.

The grant aims to provide more than 27,800 children, including 50% girls, with access to formal and non-formal basic education in areas affected by insecurity in Burkina Faso.

“Whatever the situation, children have the right to education, while some children particularly those living in areas affected by insecurity, cannot fulfil that right. Thanks to the generous contribution from SEF, thousands of children will benefit from formal and non-formal education, vocational training and quality radio education,” says John Agbor, UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso.

The contribution from SEF will be used to facilitate access to resilient preschool education for 4,500 children and formal and non-formal education for 16,700 children, as well as strengthen system and technological innovations for 6,600 children in the regions of Centre-Nord, Nord, Est, Sahel and Boucle du Mouhoun.

As of November 2024, the humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso is still challenging with more than two million people displaced across the country due to the conflict. Despite the Government's sustained efforts to reopen more than 1,500 schools, over 5,000 schools still remain closed, which represents 20 percent of educational establishments in Burkina Faso.

In one year, Burkina Faso experienced a drastic drop in the enrollment rate of children in primary school, going from 85.8 percent in 2022 to 77.4 percent in 2023. The crisis has also had other harmful consequences for children, with some separated from their families while others are victims of child marriage, exploitation, abuse, or child labour.

In 2023, the Ministry of Basic Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages ​​(MEBAPLN) and UNICEF implemented flexible educational initiatives to reach 30,500 out-of-school children aged 3 to 17, including nearly 7,500 preschool students and more than 630,000 children affected by the crisis, 70 percent of whom through the education by radio program (PER).

Thanks to the generous funding from KSrelief and SEF, UNICEF has already initiated several key projects:

• Construction and equipment of 27 semi-finished classrooms to increase the capacity of existing formal schools
• Building of 100 accelerated learning centres for out-of-school children to reintegrating them into the school system.
• Planning to equip and train 500 girls and boys in vocational training centres,
• Working to reach 6,000 children with emergency alternating classes and to provide 600 children with distance learning using tablets,
• Expanding education by radio and providing school equipment to the most vulnerable children.

The Government of Burkina Faso, UNICEF and its partners including KSrelief and SEF continue to intensify their actions on the ground. This collaboration exemplifies how targeted funding and expert implementation can make a significant impact in fulfilling children's right to education, particularly in areas facing significant security challenges.

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About KSrelief
We are King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre #KSrelief. Leading KSA’s humanitarian role in serving people & communities in 105 countries across the world.

About SEF
The Saudi Esports Federation is the regulating body in charge of nurturing elite gaming athletes and developing the gaming community and industry in Saudi Arabia.