July 29, 2002
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) last weekend hailed the Japanese government for donating $10.8 million to education programs for displaced and refugee children returning to their homes in Afghanistan, said a press release by the UN information center on Sunday.
The agency, which said the funds were urgently needed to keep up with the large number of children going back to school, has already distributed learning materials for more than 2.3 million Afghan students, along with 6,000 tents for temporary classrooms and 10 million textbooks, IRNA said.
Despite this effort, up to four million children are seeking to resume learning, many of them recently returned from neighboring countries where their families had been refugees.
The donation will ensure that 1.25 million returnee children have access to primary and secondary schooling in Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar and neighboring provinces in Afghanistan, according to UNICEF, which is working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide services to returnee children and their families.
"The latest donation by Japan is another example of its formidable commitment to children," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy in New York. "Education for all children is the foundation of a peaceful, stable society, and it's a crucial step in the rebuilding process."
Noting that "a tremendous amount of work" remains to be done, Ms. Bellamy voiced hope that donors would support UNICEF's ongoing effort "to rebuild Afghanistan through its children".
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