(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) We don't let the world to deprive millions of Syrian refugee children their right to education - that was the strong message a group of Dubai residents wanted to send across the world when they joined the Dubai Cares' Back to School initiative, which aims to help 50,000 Syrian refugee children in Jordan with school supplies.
A total of 500 volunteers gathered to pack up notebooks, pencils, stickers and other stationery items in a school bag - all of which is Union Coop-sponsored. As many as 3,000 volunteers are expected to help pack the rest from June 17 to June 22.
Of them, Christine Louis, an HR manager, said that giving school supplies to the Syrian children will help them realise that "they are not alone".
"The kids should know that they have people looking after them. They are not alone," she said.
Denying education to the Syrian children will create a generation who will not be able to integrate or add value to society, according to Lana Elansari, a British national of Syrian origin, who is also part of the initiative.
The volunteer said: "Anyone who is human would feel very distressed with everything the Syrian people are experiencing. They are caught in the crossfire of politics. Education for the Syrian children is critical. There are essentials that every community needs, such as food and shelter.
"But it is also important to breed in a generation that enjoys the privilege of education that other societies take for granted. Otherwise, you'll have a whole generation with a huge gap in terms of their ability to integrate, assimilate and add value. They don't want to be victims, so I think it's critical that education should not be denied for the youth." Elansari also brought her three young children to volunteer. She said she regularly shows them video clips of the volatile situation in Syria to remind them that there are people who are suffering.
"I brought my kids here not only to remind them how privileged they are to live in a safe and hospitable city like Dubai, but to also remind them to never forget the people who are in need. They're the next generation so they need to know a sense of responsibility. I often show them what's going on in Syria and tell them that had my parents not left Syria, that would be us," she said.
There were also first-time volunteers who decided to help after learning that millions of Syrian children are out of school.
A Filipina volunteer, Myla Figuro, said that this was the first time she was volunteering ever in her 38 years of life.
"If you have time to spare, you should spend it in the best way possible, which I think is helping people. I came here today to give back to society. There are children who need our help and we can't be selfish," Figuro, a sales assistant in Dubai, said.
Meanwhile, one Egyptian expat, who volunteered for the same Dubai Cares' Back to School initiative last year (which was for Palestinian children), said she returned to help as she also believes taking time out for the Syrian children is imperative.
Deprived of education, they are scattered in camps
According to a 2016 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report, Jordan currently hosts 633,644 officially registered Syrian refugees, of which 32per cent(approximately 201,600) areschool agedchildren and youth. It is estimated that 40per cent- more than 90,000 - of these children are out of school.
In Za'atari camp, of 79,138 refugees, there are about 30,000 school-aged children;one thirdof them are out of school.
In Azraq, another refugee camp in the north of Jordan, 43per centof school-aged children are out of school.
However, 85per centof Syrian refugee children in Jordan live in host communities scattered around the kingdom but with the highest density in the north. In host communities, the numbers are slightly lower than camps, where about 38per centof school-aged refugeesareout of school.
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