Education for Darfuri Refugees
WJR, in partnership with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), provides quality education programmes that promote psychosocial well-being and personal development for conflict-affected children living in the Oure Cassoni refugee camp in north-east Chad, near the Sudanese border. Government infrastructure and basic services are extremely weak, poverty is widespread and food and water are scarce.
65% of the camp population of Oure Cassoni is under 18. Since arriving in Chad, these refugees have had to cope with extremely challenging environmental, physical and social conditions. Their displacement has disrupted their education and the educational infrastructure in the camp is at a very rudimentary level. Hundreds of children leave Oure Cassoni each year to return to Sudan to take Grade 8 and secondary school national exams as the school examinations administered by UNICEF to refugees in Chad are not recognized by the Sudanese government. This journey puts the children at serious risk of violence, sexual assault or being drafted as soldiers in the conflict.
In response, WJR supports an educational system providing schooling for more than 13,000 youngsters living in the Oure Cassoni camp. The education serves as safety net for the children and is further bolstered by engaging parents and camp leaders in activities that emphasise the importance of education.
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© 2010 World Jewish Relief
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Charity Number: 290767 | Tel: +44 (0)20 8736 1250 | info@wjr.org.uk
