African refugee children find education, hope in Cairo
Xinhua, June 21, 2016 Adjust font size:
In the heart of Cairo's Maadi, one of the Egyptian capital's upscale districts, lies a two-story villa that is quite indistinguishable from other buildings in the neighborhood.
The property used to house a family of 10, but with its bedrooms refurbished into classrooms and a small garden into a playground, it is now occupied by African Hope Learning Center (AHLC) and caters for 500 students, most of whom are refugee children from Africa.
Children draw pictures during the class at African Hope Learning Center in Cairo, Egypt on June 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
ONLY CHANCE FOR EDUCATION
According to a recent report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Egypt hosts more than 50,000 refugees from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and other African countries.
The unofficial number, however, may be much higher, and mere numbers reveal little about the dire situation of refugees, especially that of children.
"Refugee kids suffer from war trauma, famine and extreme poverty in their countries of origin. They easily feel insecure and anxious," said Kizito Dreanos, a senior staff member of AHLC. "In a word, they are very troubled."
Founded in 1998, AHLC is a sponsor-backed institution dedicated to providing displaced African children in Cairo with access to primary and high school education, as well as a lunch, the only meal of the day for many of them.
"The kids' families can't afford public schools here, so AHLC is the only hope for them to have any education at all," Dreanos told Xinhua.
After a brief summer holiday, around 30 children came back to attend the center's summer school on Monday, coinciding with the United Nations' World Refugee Day.
Rasha Tartizio, a 17-year-old girl who has been studying at the center for five years, told Xinhua how she missed school during the holidays because she wants to meet her friends.
"I don't like holidays; they are boring. You can meet new people and your best friends at school, and we play and sing together, so the school has alway been fun," said Rasha, adding that her dream is to travel around the world someday.
