Dubai Cares offers Dh9.18m for rebuilding schools in Nepal

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 Dubai Cares has announced a 3-year programme called 'post-earthquake recovery efforts for education in Nepal' in partnership with Room to Read, the non-profit organisation that focuses on children's literacy.
The Dh9.18 million programme includes a two-phase recovery intervention: the first one focuses on infrastructure and learning environments, including the reconstruction and renovation of 10 schools with a total of 115 classrooms, in the Nuwakot district; the second consists of implementing a holistic literacy programme targeting children between the ages of 4 to 10 in 100 schools.
The programme is part of Dubai Cares' Education in Emergencies strategy for providing children the opportunity to learn and cope during and after crises.
In April 2015, a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit a vast, mountainous region between Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, and the city of Pokhara. A severe aftershock followed a few days later bringing the death toll to more than 8,800 people, of which 2,300 were children.
More than 875,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as schools, medical facilities and other infrastructures. About 1 million students were left without access to school, 32,000 classrooms were destroyed, and an additional 15,000 were damaged. It was the worst earthquake to hit the country in 80 years.
Speaking from the field during his visit to schools set to benefit from the reconstruction efforts, Tariq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares, said: "Natural disasters such as Nepal's devastating earthquake are in the international headlines for a few weeks, but after that the real work of rebuilding the fractured communities must begin. In line with our commitment to supporting Education in Emergencies, Dubai Cares intends to help children go back to school to minimise disruption of their education and exposure to risks of neglect, exploitation and trafficking.
"Dubai Cares is well placed to offer a helping hand that will make a hugely positive contribution to children's community that has suffered unimaginable trauma."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

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