Prague, June 28 (CTK) – The Czech People in Need (CvT) humanitarian group helps educate thousands of children in the north Iraqi region of Zumar, that was conquered by Islamic State (IS) fighters two years ago, programme coordinator Nada Aliova told CTK on Tuesday.
Since mid-2015, the CvT has managed to deliver equipment to 12 local schools and acquire teaching aids for 120 teachers and 3350 children, Aliova said.
In the schools, children are taught similar subjects as Czech children from the age of six, she added.
“The children are divided into schools according to their age. There are maths and from languages Arabic or Kurdish, but also natural history,” Aliova said.
“They are taught classical subjects like in our country,” she added.
Due to the school capacity, some schoolchildren are only taught late in the afternoon.
“There are often classes in shifts, in the morning and in the evening. Due to this, more children rotate,” Aliova said.
The schools helped by the CvT with the support from the Foreign Ministry and the UNICEF are located in the same buildings from which the fighting between the government forces and the Daesh drove them out.
In all, tens of thousands of people have escaped the Daesh fighters in the Zumar region.
They started returning after the Kurdish units managed to force out the militants and push forward the battle line.
“These people were often violently forced out from their homes. When they returned after several months on flight, they found their villages and homes in a desperate state,” Aliova said.
The CvT is trying to renew the educational system, supporting and encouraging teaching and explaining to parents that school attendance is beneficial to children.
The children are taught by professional teachers. In addition, the CvT provides them with professional psychological training, Aliova said.
“We familiarise them with methods of psychological and social support for traumatised children, psychological help and solutions to conflicts,” she added.
According to the United Nations, there are over 3.3 million internally displaced persons in Iraq who are waiting for their return home. Over ten million Iraqis depend on humanitarian aid. The CvT has been helping in Iraq since 2003.
