Today, 20 June, to commemorate World Refugee Day, we’re highlighting the courage and resilience of millions of people who’ve been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution and/or violence. This day focuses on their rights and needs and their dreams of building a better future.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads the global efforts to provide protection, assistance and solutions for refugees around the world. This year, under the slogan “for a world where refugees are welcomed”, it’s emphasising the need to create more friendly and safer environments, ensuring that both children and adults have opportunities to thrive in the communities and countries that have provided them with a home.
ProFuturo, an educational initiative promoted by Telefónica Foundation and “la Caixa” Foundation, is joining this celebration to reaffirm its commitment to narrowing the educational gap in emergency contexts.
Since 2019 we’ve been working to provide access to quality education for children in crisis and vulnerability situations around the world. With active projects at refugee camps in Rwanda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Lebanon, we collaborate with organisations such as UNHCR, World Vision, Entreculturas, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, the KAYANY Foundation and the American University of Beirut to maximise the impact of our educational programme and reach more people in need.
A visit to the Mahama refugee camp
As part of this commemoration, a delegation from ProFuturo led by our managing director Magdalena Brier and accompanied by Juan Ramón Fuertes, general manager of the “la Caixa” Foundation, and José María Gil-Robles, president of the Spanish UNHCR Committee, recently visited the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda. This camp, one of the largest in the world with over 60,000 inhabitants, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, is home to more than 20,000 children facing daily challenges when it comes to accessing basic resources and essential services.
Despite conditions such as the limited gas supply, few resources and high classroom occupancy, the two organisations have managed to gradually transform the educational dynamics at the school. The use of ProFuturo’s technological equipment, training in digital skills for the teachers and the open educational model of the ProFuturo platform, with online and offline access to content, has offset the lack of school materials and prepared the children to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Quality education is key to the development and resilience of communities in crisis situations. ProFuturo not only provides access to educational and technological tools, including tablets and digitised educational materials, it also works in close collaboration with local communities, partners and governmental authorities to reinforce national education programmes and reach those most in need.
Education is much more than a right, it’s a tool that empowers children and teachers to enable them to build a better future for themselves and their community. On World Refugee Day we’re reaffirming our commitment to continue striving to dignify and teach in emergency contexts, demonstrating that all children, regardless of their situation, deserve a future full of possibilities.
Let’s underline the importance of global solidarity and collective commitment, because all refugee children deserve to make their dreams come true!
#EducatingTransforms
Do you want to know more about ProFuturo’s commitment to education?
Further information available at: https://profuturo.education/
X: @ProFuturo_
IG: @profuturo_
FB: @ProFuturoEducation
YT: ProFuturo
LK: ProFuturoEducation
Related content
- Transforming education in emergency situations: the commitment we and our partners make to the future of refugee children
- ProFuturo signs an agreement with IRC to expand its digital education program in emergency contexts in Tanzania
- Digital education as a driver of inclusion for children in refugee situations
- Digital education in humanitarian contexts
