News & Views

Tents Make School Possible for Refugee Kids

Last October a major earthquake in northern Pakistan (see map) turned entire villages into piles of debris. And it killed thousands of people and left tens of thousands more homeless.

Life is hard for the refugees who now live in special camps set up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But there is some good news. More than 14,000 children in these camps go to school every day. Many of the children are attending school for the first time in their lives.

The Jagir camp in Balakot, located in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, looks a lot like the other camps scattered through the disaster region. Nearly 70 families make their homes in small tents, and about 40 children attend school.

Instead of individual classrooms for different grades, kids of all ages learn together in one big tent. They study subjects including the Urdu and English languages, the Islamic religion, math, and social studies. The boys and girls feel grateful to have the school. They share a small supply of books, pencils, and notepads.

Ten-year-old Shozad lived in one of the areas hardest hit by the quake. He is recovering from a broken leg. "I lost my friends and schoolmates in the earthquake," he said, "and going to school helps me think about other things for the moment. My favourite subject is drawing, especially flowers."

Organizations like the UNHCR hope to continue providing schooling for these eager students when they eventually return home.

Refugee kids from Pakistan attend school in a tent.
Photograph courtesy UNHCR