Child Education

Ghinwa*, Syria

Eight years ago Ghinwa and her family fled the war in Syria and now live in a refugee camp in Lebanon. After her father suffered a severe stroke, Ghinwa had to support her family by selling packs of tissues at a busy Beirut junction. Unable to go to school, Ghinwa was left feeling hopeless about her future.

Then came a turning point. Ghinwa heard about an education centre we run in the camp and decided to try it out. She says it’s “changed my whole life”. She’s learned to read and write, made friends, grown in confidence, and even spoken online at an international conference about child refugees. Her dream is to become a lawyer and defend children’s rights.

You can read Ghinwa's full story here

*Name changed

Adam*, Syria-Palestine

Despite the extreme challenges he faces - an economic crisis, Covid and the conditions of the Palestinian camp in which he lives – Adam* is determined to continue with his schooling, for he believes that ‘education is life’. 

When Covid first hit, Adam* was scared that his dreams had been shattered. With all lessons going online, Adam* was falling behind and failing tests – the constant electricity blackouts where he lives making it impossible to access the internet.

However, with the discovery of the education centre in the camp (supported by Save the Children), the teen has been able to continue some parts of his study, as well as make new friends, find support and now become a child advocate. 

• Child refugees: Working with the UNCHR & Pearson to shine a light on efforts to provide education
• Families Connect:  Building on feedback from parents looking for support in literacy/language development, numeracy & emotional development
• Girls’ education: Giving thousands of girls the support they need to stay in education in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mozambique and the DRC.
• Gaza: as soon as the conditions exist for a safe and meaningful response, we're ready to scale up our activities further in Gaza, including setting up temporary learning spaces and repairing damaged schools

• Philippines: Giving parents the knowledge, skills & resources they need to support their child's early learning and development
• Rwanda: Increasing the number of quality children’s books, starting reading clubs & supporting parents and teachers
• Syria: Keeping children safe by helping them return to learning
• UK: Putting childcare costs high on the political agenda & shining a light on the importance of a skilled early education workforce.

Millions of children never see inside a classroom. Others drop out due to overcrowding, conflict, or simply because they're a girl.

Here in the UK, the poorest children do less well than wealthier classmates - and low literacy is linked to low pay and unemployment.

A lot can get in the way of education. But from Leeds to Liberia, a love of learning is universal. Children know it's key to a world of possibilities.

Worldwide

• 124m children/young people have not started school or dropped out
• Over a quarter of a billion children are out of school
• 420m children will not learn the most basic skills.
• All children in Gaza have lost access to education

In the UK

• 23% fail to reach expected levels of language development by 5
• 1 in 3 children living in poverty fall behind with their education
• 27% of children from poor families get 5+ good GCSE passes, compared to 55% of peers from wealthier families.