Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) observes the United Nations’ annual International Day of Education as it continues to provide educational services for needy children across the globe. In 2020, HHRD played a major role in the lives of 13,890 children and youth through education support in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, and Uganda.
With an estimated 759 million illiterate adults across the globe, it is imperative that preventative actions are taken to ensure the current generation has access to quality education regardless of their circumstances. This year’s theme aims to “recover and revitalize education for the COVID-19 generation”. HHRD’s Education Support Program (ESP) underlines this effort by promoting literacy, and strengthening the education system by providing easier access to quality education in remote areas.
Through the provision of mobile learning and child care centers, academic scholarships, career counseling, and much more HHRD is fulfilling the right to learn for every refugee, orphan, and less fortunate child or youth. In Pakistan, HHRD is supporting 10 students in completing their Doctors of Physiotherapy and in Jordan 97 students at universities perusing various majors. Moreover, HHRD’s School of Excellence in Mogadishu, Somalia offers free primary education to 250 orphans and vulnerable children from internally displaced families and host communities.
Education is a lifeline for children; schools protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse and exploitation. They provide lifesaving food, water, health care and hygiene supplies. Parents and children affected by crises consistently cite education as a top priority. Providing access to education can help secure a more promising future of some of the most marginalized segments of society.