Mozambique: Over 50,000 health staff walk out on first day of strike - union
UNICEF Mozambique
Chiúre, Cabo Delgado – “This school has become the temporary reception center for families who came from communities that were affected by the armed conflict,” said Odete Maria Rosa Gonçalves, 50, Director of the Coqueiro Basic School. The six-classroom school has 1,923 students, 983 of whom are girls, and 29 teachers. Due to the recent wave of violence in Chiure District, the school received an additional 277 displaced boys and girls, mainly from the communities of Mazeze and Chiúre Velho.
“In normal situations, my teachers serve an average of 80 to 90 children, with this process of new registrations of displaced children, I believe that the ratio could be 100 students for each teacher. We hope that the local education authorities will allocate more teachers to ensure that there are minimum conditions for learning,” said Odete Gonçalves.
In the first months of 2024, Chiure District witnessed a wave of attacks perpetrated by non-state Armed Groups in the communities of Mazeze, Ocua, and Chiúre Velho. Official data indicate that by the beginning of March, 99,313 people had moved to Vila Sede do Distrito, as well as to Eráti, a border district in the neighboring Nampula province.
According to information from the Chiure education authorities, 81 of the 142 schools in the entire district have closed, affecting 47,398 students, as well as 380 teachers. Currently, with the situation of insecurity in the district under control, there is a gradual process of return of the population and opening of public education services. To date, at least 20 previously closed schools are already in operation and over 900 displaced students have been reintegrated into the schools located in the district headquarters and surrounding areas.
“The learning materials that we have received from UNICEF and that we are distributing to displaced children are of great value, as most of them did not have time to take their notebooks and school books with them at the time of their escape. The materials are also serving as a magnet for other displaced children who remain out of school, as we have noticed that the number of newly registered displaced people has increased significantly since we started the distribution process,” said Odete, who has been a true leader in the back-to-school campaign, through constant community mobilization to raise awareness among displaced families to take their children to school. “We will not rest until all displaced children have access to education, despite our difficulties and limitations.”
With support from the governments of Sweden and Norway, and the Central Emergency Response Fund, UNICEF and its partners have been providing humanitarian assistance to displaced families in transitional accommodation centres in both Chiure and Erati. More than 17,000 student kits and other teacher support materials have been provided to education authorities in Chiure to respond to the needs of displaced students who have been gradually reintegrated into schools, such as the Coqueiro Primary School.
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