CHILDREN REMAIN MOTIVATED TO LEARN IN ALEPPO AMIDST CRISIS

Prior to the crisis in Syria, now in its fourth year, Aleppo had as many as 1.2 million children registered in primary and secondary education levels. The intensified conflict and violence have severely disrupted education access, reducing the number of children enrolled in schools to 455,000 – a sharp drop of 62 per cent in enrolment in the governorate.

As the education sector lead, UNICEF is committed to promoting access to quality education in all of Syria’s 14 governorates, in particular in hard-to-reach areas like Aleppo.

For example, UNICEF supports a school at the University shelter for children and families displaced by the on-going conflict. The school provides displaced children with the opportunity to continue their education. UNICEF has provided 30 prefabs which are now being used as classrooms in Aleppo.

EU-DEVCO has generously supported the continuation of children’s education in Syria, including in Aleppo, through providing school bags and stationery supplies, teaching and learning materials, Early Childhood Development kits, and the establishment of school clubs.

UN COMMITTEE: Marks one month since abduction of School Girls in Chibok, Nigeria.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Wednesday firmly condemned the acts of violence against more than 200 girls who were abducted from their secondary school on 14 April 2014 during a violent raid by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria. The Committee expressed deep concern about the fate of the girls, who have now been separated from their families for one month.

“The Committee considers that this large-scale abduction from an educational institution for enslavement constitutes a direct violation of articles 5, 6 and 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women* and may qualify as a crime against humanity,” Committee chairperson Nicole Ameline stated.

“The Committee urges Nigeria to employ all necessary means to obtain the release of the girls and to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime.” The Committee recalled its General Recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, asking States parties to uphold women’s rights before, during and after conflict and to exercise due diligence in ensuring that non-State actors are held accountable for crimes against women.

“In particular, according to the General Recommendation, States must take measures to prevent the occurrence of attacks and threats against school girls and their teachers; and ensure that perpetrators of such acts of violence are promptly investigated, prosecuted and punished,” Ms Ameline added.

The Committee will closely follow the situation of the abducted girls and the measures taken by the Nigerian authorities to ensure their release, punish the perpetrators and provide effective remedies to the victims, as well as to prevent similar violations in the future and ensure the participation of women

Posted by Admin.

HOW MEILAN IS HELPING TO FIGHT HUNGER.

For the past two years, MeiLan has been raising money for hunger relief by selling hundreds of handmade bookmarks, origami star boxes and leaf-rubbed placemats in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. For each sale, the young artist donates 100% of the proceeds to WFP-USA. She’s raised more than US$1,500.

She’s also only 9 years old. The 4th grader decided to start fundraising for hunger relief after seeing a news story in 2011 about a widespread drought in the Horn of Africa. The drought—the region’s worst in nearly 60 years—affected more than 2.6 million people in Somalia alone,a country already plagued by ongoing civil conflict. MeiLan was shocked to see images of Somali children her age who didn’t have enough food to eat. What was life like for them, she wondered. More importantly, how could she help?

After deciding to sell homemade artwork to raise money, MeiLan had some help of her own. Her teachers and classmates at Hayhurst Elementary School purchased her creations, as did her friends and family at the Hillsdale Community Church. The church’s pastor even agreed to match the first $100 MeiLan raised. By engaging her community and spreading awareness about what is often called “the world’s greatest solvable problem,” MeiLan multiplied her impact in the fight against world hunger, which kills more people each year than malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis combined.

Thanks to supporters like her, hungry people in greatest need all over the world are receiving emergency relief, including areas in the Philippines recently devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as well as drought-stricken villages in the Sahel region of central Africa.

But WFP’s work extends beyond emergency food assistance. With 13,500 employees in 80countries,WFP is on the ground every day helping communities build resilience against future food insecurity through programs like School Meals, which encourages families to keep their children, especially girls, in the classroom by providing daily lunches and take-home rations. By investing in children’s education, WFP’s School Meals Program helps lift entire communities—and future generations—out of poverty.

“Before, if a family had three daughters, perhaps only one would be sent to school. Now they send all their daughters to school,” a girl named Sarah Ismail told WFP spokesperson Laila Ali in October. “WFP meals help me to focus when I am in the classroom. It also makes life easier for my parents,knowing that I get two meals at school.” This year, WFP provided meals to nearly 106,000 children in 473 primary schools in Somalia, where nearly six out of 10children do not go to school–one of the worst enrollment rates in the world.

It costs just 25 cents to give a child like Ismali a school meal, which means that MeiLan’s US$1,500 contribution alone could be used to provide 6,000 school meals. MeiLan is giving people all over the planet, including young girls like her, the opportunity at a brighter future.

To learn more about how you can help,visit http://wfpusa.org/ways-to-give.

START 2014 IN THE “RIGHTS” DIRECTION.

Girls and women are disproportionately more affected than men by armed conflict, sexual violence, injury, death, intimidation, and human trafficking. Yet less than 7.5 percent of private foundation funding goes towards girls and women’s rights, and two years ago one in four of women’s organizations were in danger of closing. That’s why we started Catapult, the first crowdfunding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women around the world. We aim to make a real difference and to use the power of the internet to connect people who care about justice with trusted organizations that are working issues like reproductive rights, child marriage, and girls education, and desperately need financial support. This has been an exciting year for our community. Since Catapult’s launch in October 2012, we’ve already made a huge impact. Our online community and our partners (which include Johnson & Johnson , Melinda Gates , Gucci’s Chime for Change campaign, and Glamour Magazine ), were truly the ones who helped make this happen. Together, we have raised more than $5 million for more than 85 organizations in 81 countries. Our community has funded projects that range from educating girls in Kenya, to aiding survivors of sex trafficking in the United States, to helping refugees access healthcare in Syria. The results are truly inspiring. One project, the Afghan Institute of Learning’s (AIL) mobile literacy classes , has taught 175 women and girls to read and write, all using mobile phones. This work is imperative, considering that the literacy rate of Afghan women is one of the lowest in the world at 12.6 percent. Here’s one student’s story:

My name is Adela. I am 22 years old. Before coming to this class I didn’t imagine I would be able to read and write once, but AIL proved to me that believing in one’s abilities is the key to success and achievement. It is a thing of pride for me and my family that I am able to read and write. My father owns a small shop, but he is uneducated. At night when he is home I help him with accounting and recording goods he buys and sells. I am very happy with my friends then because I own a cell phone and I am able to use all the options on it. At the end I want to thank AIL for giving me this great chance to change my life in four months.

There are many more stories like Adela’s , and we have made great progress in Catapult’s first year. But, of course, there’s a lot more work to be done, and we’re looking forward to even greater results ahead. Catapult teamed up with Johnson & Johnson again this giving season on the ” Care Grows ” campaign, which launched on December 3, Giving Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson is matching donations to select projects on Catapult for bringing relief in the Philippines, training youth leaders in the United States, ensuring safe births in the Congo, and helping women in Mexico become successful entrepreneurs. You can choose a project close to your heart from nine organizations around the world that are bringing real change for girls and women. You can also make your money go further by joining Catapult Curator Melinda Gates to help send newborn care kits to disaster areas in the Philippines. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match your donation to Save the Children’s ” Disaster Relief for Moms and Newborns .” I am thankful that Catapult has given me the opportunity to do meaningful work on these issues that I care about. Together we can make a real difference and ensure that all girls and women around the world are able to share in the holiday cheer. Join us to start off 2014 in the rights direction.

Written by Tyler LePard
Originally published at The Huffington Post .