USAID, UNICEF Announce $17M Emergency Education Project

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

According to a press statement from the US Embassy in Juba, the Washington Government will provide US$17 million in funding for the project, to be implemented by UNICEF.

This project will specifically target internally displaced children, including children in the Protection of Civilian (PoC) areas within the compounds of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and host communities. 

“The new partnership gives girls, boys and youth a safe space in the midst of increased risks of trauma, injury, exploitation and abuse,” USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Linda Etim said. “Education in emergencies is the first measure in creating a sense of normalcy in the lives of children affected by violence and conflict.” 

The intervention will provide safe and protective temporary learning spaces, supply teaching and learning materials, support accelerated learning for out-of-school adolescents and youth, train teachers in life skills, peace-building and psychosocial support. 

The project is also expected to deliver lifesaving messages in coordination with South Sudan’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and other partners.

“In addition to the obvious need for continuing children’s education, education in emergencies actually saves lives by supporting children and adolescents with essential messages about how to maintain health in the crowded temporary shelters where they live,” said Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. 

“It also helps to build social cohesion and to teach children about alternatives to violence in resolving conflict, as well as giving them a positive and constructive routine in the midst of the chaos and trauma of life in this devastating emergency.”

The project will benefit displaced children in Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes, Central and Eastern Equatoria states which have been severely affected by the conflict over the past five months.