©Kristóf Hölvényi

Education is also one of the best tools for investing in peace, stability and economic growth.

Education is not only a fundamental right but also a basic need for children affected by humanitarian crises. It is vital for ensuring they have a better future, for developing their full potential and equipping them with the skills and protection needed to rebuild a sense of normalcy and security.

Entreculturas and Alboan work together with Fe y Alegría and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) to accompany and care for children affected by these situations, offering them spaces of protection and prevention, school supplies and financial support to guarantee their rights, keeping them safe from violence and the need to flee.

Colombia: peace schools

Despite having signed a peace agreement, the dynamics of the conflict continue in Colombia, worsened by the complex humanitarian crisis caused by the flow of migrants from Venezuela, with children being one of the most affected groups.

Colombia is currently the country with the third largest number of refugees in the world, almost 3 million of them from Venezuela.

The increase in violence and the government’s limited capacity to respond have led to massive humanitarian needs.

In partnership with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), we are working to respond to the emergency situations experienced by ethnic communities in Buenaventura and other municipalities in Valle del Cauca by providing education, protection and access to health services. As part of our protection strategy, and in line with the implementation of the Safe Schools Protocol that Colombia signed, we work in formal education in schools and in non-formal educational settings, promoting safety and protection for children from forced recruitment and preventing them from becoming used in illegal activities.

©FE Y ALEGRÍA COLOMBIA

©SERGI CÁMARA

©SERGI CÁMARA

Ukraine and Bordering Countries: schools in danger

Two years after the start of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the situation remains alarming. The ongoing humanitarian crisis continues, leaving countless families homeless, jeopardising children’s access to education.  

More than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge both within Ukraine as well as in neighbouring countries in an attempt to escape the violence and situation of uncertainty.

More than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge.

As the emergency continues, the needs of refugees and displaced people have changed and so has our response to them. Initially, we prioritised emergency relief, but we are now implementing longer-term actions to ensure that children regain their right to education and to guarantee that families integrate in their host locations, which includes access to housing and work.

Our long-term response encompasses five areas of action that put people at the centre of the intervention: welcoming refugees across Europe; protecting their rights; promoting their active participation; fostering social interaction; and integrating and strengthening our network to provide quality responses to their needs.

©SERGI CÁMARA

©SERGI CÁMARA

©SERGI CÁMARA

Lebanon: schools in a conflict zone

Lebanon is the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, hosting some 2 million Syrian refugees. Still today, of the 700,000 Syrian school-age children presently living in Lebanon, only a third are able to attend a public school because of the limited number of places.  

The country is facing a complex economic, political and social crisis, made even worse by the conflict in Gaza. This precarious security situation forces schools to close from time to time, hampering the operations of the JRS team, our local partner on the ground.

Of the 700,000 Syrian school-age children presently living in Lebanon, only a third are able to attend a public school.

Our work allows them to access quality education and enables them, to the extent possible, to enter the Lebanese education system.

Together with JRS, we support 3,000 children, young people and adults in the areas of Baalbek, Bar Elias and Burj Hammoud at six formal education schools and at a non-formal education centre, and we also provide psychosocial support at three social centres.

©CARMEN MORENO 

©JRS Líbano

©JRS Líbano

Tanzania: inclusive schools

Over 248,000 refugees live in Tanzania. 67.4% are Burundian, while the rest are from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 55% of the total population are between 0 and 17 years of age. Of them, fewer than half are enrolled in school. The war, both in Burundi as in the DRC, has prevented 57,142 children from going to school.

We have asked ourselves how many children with some kind of disability, either physical or mental, there are in the camps in Tanzania. The answer is that we don’t know because there is no official information. This lack of information is important in itself as it means that disability is not focused on by humanitarian actors in the camps in Tanzania.

Barely 21% of preschool-age children attend nursery school.

Since 2021, we have been working together with JRS on the inclusion of children with special needs in school by identifying them, providing the appropriate equipment for them to learn (glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, etc.), training teachers to have the necessary teaching skills, and raising awareness in the community of the rights of people with special needs.

Since 2022, we have also committed ourselves to enhancing early childhood education for both the refugee population and the local community. Barely 21% of preschool-age children attend nursery school: this restricts them from interacting with other children in a safe and protective environment, limits them from developing the social skills they need as they grow, and hinders their ability to cope with the trauma experienced as a result of their displacement. We work hand in hand with JRS to make education a bridge of peace between the refugee population and the host population.

©JRS

©IRENE GALERA JRS

©JRS

Democratic Republic of Congo: schools that protect

The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be the setting for one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises. With more than 6 million internally displaced people, it is the country with the largest internally displaced population on the African continent.

For over 20 years, the persistent violence of armed groups combined with high levels of insecurity have led to the destruction of thousands of schools and the successive displacement of thousands of people. As a result, more than 2.9 million children urgently need schooling.

Boys are particularly vulnerable to forced recruitment by armed groups, while girls, susceptible to sexual violence.

Boys are particularly vulnerable to forced recruitment by armed groups, while girls, susceptible to sexual violence either at school or on their way home, are often kidnapped by the various militias to fight, cook for them or are forced to marry members of these armed groups. Moreover, in the camps for displaced persons, they are at risk of being trafficked and/or sexually exploited.

Together with JRS, we operate in Masisi, North Kivu province in eastern DRC, in four refugee camps and two settlements, which are home to a population of 14,800 people. As this region is far from the country’s capital, Kinshasa, the presence of the government is hardly felt. This remoteness from the central seat of power has allowed a number of armed groups, driven by different conflicts of identity, poverty, land distribution and corruption, to spread throughout the region.

We work to foster access to school for displaced children, offering specific help to girls. We provide them with school supplies, learning kits and financial support for school fees. Schools are not just places of learning but also of protection, of support and coexistence.

©SERGI CÁMARA

©SERGI CÁMARA

©SERGI CÁMARA

A global reality

This current context makes us understand, more than ever, that everything is connected. That’s why at Entreculturas and Alboan we focus on local contexts and their connection to the global one. We are currently working on:

• Initiatives that work together with Basic Vocational Training (BVT) teaching staff to promote social inclusion and preventing school dropout.
• Educational initiatives to use in school curricula such as:
• Educa en Global [Educate Globally] is a Challenge-Based Learning project for secondary schools and BVT centres.
• Dejamos Huella [We Leave a Mark], an initiative linking Global Citizenship themes with an itinerary of knowledge and a more in-depth understanding of the educational context itself, is used in year 3 and 4 of primary school.
• A guide, based on everyday realities and the subjects worked on in the classroom, to help teachers teach students about Global Citizenship.
• Spaces for the teaching community to train and participate via Movimiento 4.7 [4.7 Movement] that strengthens knowledge and competences on themes of Global Citizenship.
• Promoting youth participation and psychosocial support for young people via the Youth Solidarity Networkprogramme.
• Creating didactic initiatives to integrate a critical and transformative intercultural approach aimed at teachers, through the «Critical Interculturality and Anti-Racism Guide: Addressing Migration and Diversity with Young People», and at young people through training itineraries like the Blue Network.

At Entreculturas and Alboan we continue to work to create schools that are a REFUGE, schools that are HOPE.

©VÍCTOR ALFONSO

©VÍCTOR ALFONSO

©VÍCTOR ALFONSO

School is a refuge.

©Sergi Cámara