Minister of State announces funding to build schools for children displaced by conflict in the Central African Republic
An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha Preas Ráiteas
Department of Foreign Affairs Press Release
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Minister of State announces funding to build schools for children displaced by conflict in the Central African Republic
Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power yesterday announced funding of almost €250,000 to build schools for children displaced by conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR).
The funding will be channelled through the Jesuit Refugee Service, a Limerick-based organisation which works to support refugees and people displaced within their own country by conflict.
The funding for the Jesuit Refugee Service will finance the construction and rebuilding of eight schools in the Central Africa Republic to allow 2,000 children displaced by the protracted humanitarian crisis to resume or begin primary education.
Minister of State Power said the funding from Irish Aid, the Government’s programme for overseas development, will make a tangible difference to the lives of thousands of children:
"The funding I announced for the Jesuit Refugee Service will allow 2,000 children, whose lives have been devastated by war and instability, to access education. The war in the Central African Republic has had a serious impact on the education sector with fewer than one-in-three children in the country currently completing primary school, of whom an even smaller proportion are girls.
Most of the children living in the north of the country are displaced and the education system in these areas has essentially collapsed. Irish Aid support will allow the Jesuit Refugee Service to open schools in areas where there are no organisations working or where the education services are not sufficient to cater for the number of internally displaced children.
As we know from our experience in Ireland, education is key to social and economic progress. The long-term impact of a primary education on the lives of these 2,000 boys and girls cannot be underestimated," he said.
Peter Ballies, International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service said: "I have spent the last week in the Central African Republic and I visited the JRS team who work in both areas under the control of the rebels. Some insecurity remains and for this reason, very few organisations work in these areas.
"But the JRS presence, the construction of schools and other activities have created a growing confidence and more people are returning to the villages from the forests. The needs are immense in CAR, but with the help of Irish Aid funding to construct and rehabilitate schools, JRS can develop an integrated programme of educational services in CAR, including teacher training."
Notes to the editor
For further information on the Jesuit Refugee Service, please contact Eugene Quinn on 086-8214888
For further information on Irish Aid’s involvement, please contact the Department of Foreign Affairs’ press office on 01-4082275/2550
Irish Aid, the Government’s programme for overseas development, is an integral part of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Over one million people are estimated to have been affected by violence in the Central African Republic. According to a 2008 report from the UNHCR, the current civil war and crises has generated over 98,000 refugees who have fled to Chad, Cameroon and Sudan. The conflict has also generated a total of 197,000 internally displaced people.
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international, non-governmental organisation which provides assistance to refugees in camps, people displaced within their own country and those held in detention.
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6 August 2009
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