School bags carrying school items and children’s dreams
11 happy children and more!
- English
- العربية
Shahd, Hashed, Sania, Abdulrahman, Ayat, Menna, Abeer, Ali and Enas, Hassan and Idress are some of thousands of students from grade 1-3 from Khawkha, Yemen, who received gifts of school bags, and stationery. This gift will contribute to motivating them to continue learning and will carry their dreams!
Thanks to support from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), UNICEF will provide learning opportunities for 10,250 children in the costal town of Khawkha, Hudaydah governorate, Yemen.
This is a 10-month education programme to improve educational outcomes for the most vulnerable girls & boys through remedial education and alternative learning pathways, back-to-school and Social Behavior Change (SBC) activities to promote child enrollment and retention, rehabilitation of schools🏫, teachers training, school items and school bags distribution 🎒, social and child protection services.
Look at children’s pictures here!
UNICEF/UNI973067/Moharram
Shahd, 6-year-old, first grade.
UNICEF/UNI973061/Moharram
Hashed, 9-year-old, second grade.
UNICEF/UNI973066/Moharram
Sania, 7-year-old, second grade.
Abdulrahman, 7-year-old, first grade.
Ayat, 8-year-old, second grade.
Menna (left) and Abeer (right), second grade.
11-year-old Ali, third grader.
Teacher Ali Abdullah stands with his first-grade students at Al-Nahdah School in Khawkha, Hudaydah. He reflects on the school bags distribution:
"The students' joy lies in receiving these complete school bags, which contain all the necessary stationery. It is our duty as teachers and administrators to ensure their availability to guarantee the continuity of the educational process, with the support of the team working on this project."
UNICEF/UNI973056/Moharram
As part of the 'Improving Educational Outcomes for Children' project, educators like Ali are essential in utilizing the new learning materials provided by UNICEF and ECHO to create a more engaging and effective classroom environment for Yemen's youngest learners.
About Yemen’s education crisis
Over the past decade, Yemen has faced relentless conflict, leading to a collapse of its education system and casting a dark and enduring shadow over its children’s futures. In 2026, more than 3.2 million children aged 5 to 17 are out of school, including 1.2 million primary school students.
Equally alarming, 1.5 million internally displaced children face severe educational interruptions, drastically increasing their dropout risk.[1] Amid this situation, those still attending school struggle in overcrowded classrooms with overworked, unsupported, and often unpaid teachers. 2,783 schools have been destroyed or damaged, impeding any semblance of normalcy and continuity in education[2].
The impact on girls and boys has been particularly severe while the quality of education has plummeted and economic hardship has compounded the problem, forcing families into coping mechanisms like child labour and early marriage, thus widening the gender gap and further endangering children’s futures.
This is why programmes like the ECHO funded one can turn the tide and ensure quality education and learning opportunities are given to Yemen’s children to pave the way for the nation’s recovery and development.
[1] Forecasting Sector, Yemen Socio-Economic Update, Issue (82) October – 2023, ‘General Education in Yemen Reality and Development Prospects’.
[2] Ibid
