A delegation from the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), led by Hamoud Abdullah Al Junaibi, Acting Secretary-General of the ERC, was briefed about the latest developments in the maintenance and rehabilitation of several schools in the Syrian governorate of Latakia.
The visit is part of the “My School is My Identity” initiative launched by the ERC to facilitate students’ return to school by rehabilitating and maintaining some 40 schools before the next academic year. The schools are spread across various areas of the governorate, some of which were completely closed in the wake of the earthquake that hit the country on 6th February.
The initiative involves maintaining classrooms, halls, health facilities, toilets and administrative halls and providing them with the necessary equipment and furniture during the early recovery phase following the earthquake.
Al Junaibi said the initiative was launched after a thorough assessment conducted by the ERC in Syria, which focussed on schools affected by the earthquake, noting that related rehabilitation and maintenance work is progressing rapidly to ensure the schools are ready to receive students before the start of the next academic year.
He also affirmed that the ERC in Syria continuously monitors the maintenance and rehabilitation of the schools covered by the initiative, ensuring that the related work adheres to the highest technical standards, restoring the schools to their previous conditions and improving them.
Mohammed Khamis Al Kaabi, Head of the ERC Delegation in Syria, said the initiative aims to instil a sense of attachment to the schools among their students and preserve the properties to make them an integral part of their identities.
The “My School is My Identity” initiative, along with other humanitarian and relief initiatives launched by the ERC in Syria, are paving the way towards recovery from the fallout of the earthquake, he added.
