من طرف The IRC builds new classrooms as more displaced children enroll in Northern Iraq schools.
14 Dec 2007 - Kurdish and displaced Iraqi students in the town of Halwest near the city of Erbil are getting ready for their winter break. When they return in February, there will be a new extension to their congested school—six classrooms built and furnished by the International Rescue Committee.
The Emergency Response Team’s Alan Manski says construction of the new classrooms is well underway just weeks after the IRC restarted programs in Iraq.
Halwest has become home to thousands of displaced Iraqi families who fled violence in Mosul and other areas of Iraq. The town’s school opened its doors to displaced Iraqi children earlier this year but the gesture meant a quadrupling of the student population. That’s caused severe overcrowding—forcing the children to attend classes in shifts.
“Newly arrived displaced families are trying to enroll their kids in this school every day, so the extra space should make a big difference in terms of easing congestion and allowing more displaced children to resume their disrupted education,” says Manski.
Meanwhile, the IRC is preparing to distribute “winter kits” for extremely vulnerable displaced Iraqis in the south. Partnering with a local Iraqi organization, the IRC will be distributing blankets and mattresses for some 6,000 people living in tent settlements and abandoned buildings in and around the city of Najaf. The delivery is planned for early January.
The IRC last worked in Iraq from 2003 through 2005.
14 Dec 2007 - Kurdish and displaced Iraqi students in the town of Halwest near the city of Erbil are getting ready for their winter break. When they return in February, there will be a new extension to their congested school—six classrooms built and furnished by the International Rescue Committee.
The Emergency Response Team’s Alan Manski says construction of the new classrooms is well underway just weeks after the IRC restarted programs in Iraq.
Halwest has become home to thousands of displaced Iraqi families who fled violence in Mosul and other areas of Iraq. The town’s school opened its doors to displaced Iraqi children earlier this year but the gesture meant a quadrupling of the student population. That’s caused severe overcrowding—forcing the children to attend classes in shifts.
“Newly arrived displaced families are trying to enroll their kids in this school every day, so the extra space should make a big difference in terms of easing congestion and allowing more displaced children to resume their disrupted education,” says Manski.
Meanwhile, the IRC is preparing to distribute “winter kits” for extremely vulnerable displaced Iraqis in the south. Partnering with a local Iraqi organization, the IRC will be distributing blankets and mattresses for some 6,000 people living in tent settlements and abandoned buildings in and around the city of Najaf. The delivery is planned for early January.
The IRC last worked in Iraq from 2003 through 2005.