School as
a refuge

©photo JRS Syria

More than a year on after the outbreak of Covid-19 around the world, schools in 24 countries are still totally or partially closed. Some of them, such as in Uganda, Colombia and Lebanon, have taken in refugee children who have lost their space of protection, of learning and the place in which to enjoy their childhood.

Without schools, refugee and displaced children – a population of over 30 million worldwide – are more exposed to situations of violence, abuse and exploitation; it is also harder for them to find food, have access to drinking water and to psychosocial support to overcome the traumatic situations they have experienced.

This is the case of Syrian refugee children, victims of an ongoing war that in 2021 has reached a terrible tenth anniversary. Having lost their home, and now in Lebanon – a country that hosts nearly 500,000 Syrian children – many of them have also lost their second home and their place of protection: school.

At Entreculturas, together with our partner organisations, we are working to ensure that schools continue to protect refugee children in over 20 countries.