Hundreds of Thousands of Children in Gaza Do Not Get Education, Swedish Foundation Plans to Build 400 Schools

Palestinian children in Khan Younis, Gaza study math, reading, writing and mental support from UNICEF. (Twitter/@TedChaiban)

JAKARTA - The Swedish Akelius Foundation plans to build 400 schools in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, because more than 650,000 children there have not received education for the past two years, following the destruction of 97 percent of the schools in the area.

The initiative aims to restore learning opportunities after extensive damage to education infrastructure across Gaza.

Swedish entrepreneur Roger Akelius made a donation to Gaza on March 20 in cooperation with the Swedish government through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The Akelius Foundation, which was founded in 2007, has previously provided $60 million in aid to the Palestinians. Its latest contribution to Gaza amounts to $75 million.

Specializing in modern pedagogy, the foundation runs free online courses in languages and mathematics with a team of about 150 staff.

With an annual budget of around $300 million, the foundation seeks to direct its resources to educational projects and has supported educational initiatives in 40 countries.

The foundation primarily works through humanitarian organizations including UNICEF, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), SOS Children's Villages - an international organization providing family-based care for orphaned and displaced children - and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

In an interview with Anadolu, Akelius said the foundation plans to provide access to schools, play areas, and food for children in Gaza.

He noted that the latest donation would fund the construction of 400 schools, each designed for 250 children.

"This is a challenging project. Our goal is to build tent schools and permanent buildings, hire teachers, and provide 100,000 meals per day for five years. As usual, Israel will restrict or ban access. They will shoot school staff and children," said Akelius, quoted by Anadolu (31/3).

He said the Swedish government had informed Israeli authorities of the aid efforts. Sweden is known to have donated around 35 million dollars through UNICEF, bringing the total aid package to more than 100 million dollars.

It is known that schools in Gaza cannot operate again after Israel destroyed or damaged 96 percent of educational institutions in the region.

According to Akelius, children in Gaza not only need to learn to read and write, but also need to feel normal life again.

Meanwhile, UNICEF data states that more than 97 percent of schools in Gaza have been damaged and around 658,000 children have not been to school for two years.