Re-emerging Joy with 80 Children return to Al-Hamza School

NFDHR:ADEL ALBAWH: - Thursday, 26 November, 2020

Classrooms were full of school boys and girls until the year 2017-2018. Yet, the situation totally changed after the school was targeted by air strikes, as confirmed by principal of Hamzah Elementary School in Al-Marabid village, Al-Jarahi district, in Al-Hudaydah.

The night of the strike was very dark and most people went peacefully to sleep. Later, they were startled awake on a loud blast coming from nearby.

"When we heard the blast, people went to the source to figure out what happened, and they returned with bad news: the school was targeted by a missile," said school girl Najla Hussein. She continues: "I couldn't help myself, I cried all night and did not sleep waiting for the morning to come."

With the first light of morning, everybody went to see the school, including Najla, who could not cope with the shock once she saw the damage; she cried loud and felt depressed. The second floor was severely damaged and the pillars were about to collapse. The missile directly hit Najla's classroom located in the middle of the second floor, and damaged the corridor; all the doors and windows were broken.

Authorities in the area suspended classes in fear that the school will be targeted again. The school remained closed for two months. When the school re-opened its doors, more than half of the students did not attend. The school principal said it was unexpected, but he had hope the number would increase within days with the majority of the boys and girls returning soon to study. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

The principal of the school, Mr. Ahmed Futini Borshi, explained: "Before the accident, there were more than 700 students in the elementary stages, but many of them were afraid to return to school. Now, only 345 students attend the classes." 

Three tents were installed as temporary classrooms to compensate the damaged classrooms. However, the children could not bear the high temperature inside in these tents. As a result, the school administration was forced to return students to the affected classrooms after removing the rubble, despite the risk threatening the lives of children and teachers, with the possibility of the roof or balcony falling over their heads at any moment.

"I feel afraid when I sit in the classroom, I always raise my head and look at the ceiling and think what if it collapsed over us," said Najla, "and this makes me constantly distracted and unable to follow the lesson"

The National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response (NFDHR) included the school within the activities of the Emergency Response Project for Education Services funded by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF). Two new classrooms were established to ensure the protection of the children. 40 double seats were provided and 324 children (1st to 6th grade) were given school bags with their accessories.

The school principal estimates that the two coming semesters will have a positive impact on the educational process in the school, since students who study in the affected classrooms are moved to new classrooms with affected classrooms permanently closed. Supporting students with school bags helped the return of around 80 students to school. And hopefully, more students are expected to return.

In mid-November 2020, the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response team arrived at the school to distribute the bags. The students' joy was incomparable. Students were busy discovering what was inside the bags: notebooks, pens and school supplies; with which they can draw lines in the canvas of their desired future.