News
Lionel Messi’s Foundation helps UNICEF get Syrian children back into the classroom
UNICEF has installed 20 new prefabricated classrooms in Tartus, Syria, and rural areas of Damascus with the help of a generous donation from the Leo Messi Foundation. These funds have enabled more than 1,600 Syrian children affected by the conflict to attend school with fully furnished classrooms.
UNICEF has installed 20 new prefabricated classrooms in Tartus, Syria, and rural areas of Damascus with the help of a generous donation from the Leo Messi Foundation.
These funds have enabled more than 1,600 Syrian children affected by the conflict to attend school with fully furnished classrooms.
“More than 60 per cent of children attending these schools have been displaced from their homes due to the fighting,” said UNICEF. “School provides children affected by war with a routine, structure, and a sense of normality in a situation that is far from normal. We are grateful to the generous support of the Leo Messi Foundation to help hundreds of children access education.”
After more than six years of conflict, 1.75 million children in Syria are out of school and millions more are at risk of dropping out. One in three schools cannot be used as they have either been destroyed or are being used as shelters or for military purposes.
The functioning schools are overcrowded, and some have had to add shifts to accommodate more children, reducing study time and affecting the quality of education.
The Leo Messi Foundation has supported UNICEF’s work for children in countries including Haiti and Nepal, among others.
About Leo Messi Foundation:
The Leo Messi Foundation was created in 2007 by Lionel Messi with the wish that all children should have the same opportunities to make their dreams come true, and to promote equality in education and health. In 2010 he was made a UNICEF ambassador.
About UNICEF:
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
Source – UNICEF
Photo credit: © UNICEF/ Syria 2016/ Ranim Al- Malek