Al Ghurair refugee fund to spend Dh45m
6,500 REFUGEE STUDENTS IN LEBANON, JORDAN AND UAE TO BENEFIT IN PHASE ONE
6,500 Syrian and Palestinian youth in Lebanon, Jordan and UAE to benefit |
Around 6,500 Syrian and Palestinian refugee students in Lebanon, Jordan and the UAE will receive funding to continue their education in the first phase of Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chaiman of the Board of Trustees of Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, announced in a press conference yesterday that Dh45 million will be allotted for the phase one of the three-phase programme that will see Dh100 million spent in three years.
“This programme is designed to help refugee children here in the UAE as well as in Lebanon and Jordan get back to school. Syrian and Palestinian refugee children in these countries can apply to continue their education through our partners. We are targeting Dh100 million for the next three years,” said Al Ghurair, speaking to Gulf News following the announcement.
He added that over 15,000 students from high school to post graduate level will be supported through the Fund.
“Our programme will see the refugee children through higher secondary, technical training and university, making sure they are well prepared to get work and become self-reliant,” said Al Ghurair.
More than 25 million or nearly half of the world’s refugees hail from the Middle East and North Africa region and an estimated 12 million of these are children, many of whom had to discontinue their education as they escape violence in their countries.
Support to students
Carried out with the support of Unicef, UNHCR, Unite Lebanon Youth Project (ULYP), Luminus Education and Emirates Red Crescent, the fund will support refugee children through various stages of their learning experience.
In the UAE, the Fund will work with the ERC and UNHCR to support the school fees of the out of schoolchildren from refugee families who are temporarily residing in the UAE due to a conflict in their home countries.
In Jordan, the Fund will join forces with Unicef to provide access to education for 4,200 vulnerable students from grades nine to 12.
“This will help thousands of children get access to quality education and continue their courses that have been disrupted by the war. It will also equip the children with the skills required for them to land decent jobs, which includes soft skills, technical and vocational training,” said Al Tayeb Adam, Unicef representative for Gulf region.