Dubai Cares highlighted the plight of 43.3 million people worldwide, 46 per cent of them children, forcibly displaced from their homes and communities on the occasion of World Refugee Day.

The UAE-based philanthropic organisation, which aims to improve access to primary education for children, provides a safe haven for refugees and people in refugee-like situations, where they can recover from mental and physical trauma, said a senior official.

“Children and their families who have experienced war-related trauma and disruption as refugees are affected by issues such as poverty, hunger and unemployment and are unfortunate victims in this ongoing struggle to create a better future. We are working to create a sense of normalcy and hope for refugees who have been uprooted from their homes and communities,” said CEO Tariq Al Gurg.

One of Dubai Cares’ ongoing programmes is reaching out to refugees in a school-feeding program in Ethiopia benefitting 25,000 primary school age children from Somalia. The refugees are sheltered in United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) camps in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia, which, received over 100,000 Somali refugees affected by the 2011 food crisis, he said.

The programme aims to stabilise school enrolment of refugee girls and boys in WFP-assisted schools and to combat the malnutrition crises of the refugees by providing on-site hot meals to school children.

Dubai Cares has also supported programs in the Middle East, particularly across the Occupied Palestinian territories, and has worked with Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

The organisation was also part of an educational emergency program, implemented by UNRWA, which ensured Palestinian refugee children in Nahr El Bared camp were given access to basic education services.

In Jordan, the organisation in partnership with UNRWA supported the building of a new elementary and preparatory school for boys in Al Zarqa Refugee Camp.  

The programme included the building of a fully furnished and equipped school to replace dilapidated buildings. This ensured that students could learn in a safe environment conducive to learning, he added. – TradeArabia News Service