By Raynald C. Rivera
DOHA: Education Above All’s (EAA) Al Fakhoora programme is launching the next wave of its work to offer access to higher education and leadership skills to thousands of young Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and opposition-held areas inside Syria.
The first phase of the expansion was announced at a high-level side event at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday themed ‘Boosting Opportunities for Higher Education in Emergencies’ which was co-hosted with Qatar’s Mission to the UN.
Al Fakhoora will work with its partner, SPARK, to provide a comprehensive scholarship and empowerment programme. The initiative is the first of its kind to offer access to higher education to young Syrian refugees.
By providing youth with right educational tools and resources, Al Fakhoora is building civic leadership, delivering psychosocial support and driving economic empowerment.
The ongoing civil war in Syria has generated the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. Over 13 million Syrians have fled war and persecution to become refugees in neighbouring countries, including hundreds of thousands of youth aged 18-25.
Many young refugees have become separated from their families and find themselves living in refugee camps or dense urban dwellings in the region. Less than fiver percent have access to higher education.
Ahead of the side event, Fahad Al Sulaiti, Chief Executive, EAA, said: “Unless we address the dire lack of access to higher education in areas affected by the conflict, we risk leaving behind a ‘lost generation’ of young people with neither the knowledge nor skills to build a future for themselves — or for their country. “The war in Syria has left hundreds of thousands of young people fearing for their future. How will they build a career, support a family and create a future for themselves and their community if they have no access to education?”
Al Fakhoora has enabled over 600 young Palestinians in Gaza to benefit from higher education programmes and reconstructed over 37 educational institutions targeted by war. “Al Fakhoora has offered hope to hundreds of young people in Gaza and we want to do the same for Syrian refugees,” Al Sulaiti added.The Peninsula
