How one Syrian group is helping kids get back to school
The Olive Branch Organization is building schools in war-damaged areas of Syria, realizing that without education and psychological support, children might become "time bombs" destined to lives of anger, frustration and violence.
DAMASCUS, Syria — Some 2.1 million children are deprived of education in war-torn Syria, according to United Nations statistics released Feb. 2. About one-fourth of the nation's schools cannot be used because they have been damaged or destroyed, or are being used to shelter displaced families or for military purposes.
To help children and women in areas where state institutions are absent, the Olive Branch Organization is active in Daraa, an opposition-controlled province in southern Syria. The organization, which relies on private donations, has initiated aid campaigns such as “My Room is My Classroom." That effort, launched in 2012, provided school supplies and toys to help make up for the shortages displaced children have suffered since regime forces stormed the Dara'a al-Balad and Tareeq al-Sadd neighborhoods.
