Elementary and secondary education for over 200 refugee children

The courtyard within St. Andrew’s is always alive with the energy of shouting, playful kids. But upon second glance, it is evident that this is not just recess time – these kids have no-where to go and nothing else to do when they are not in class.

As of last year, St. Andrew’s has been fortunate enough to afford full-day education for its oldest students. All older students are now in school from 9 to 3, which is a great stride for their educa-tion. However, this also means that younger siblings are either waiting around for their afternoon class, or waiting after their morning class for their older siblings to finish and accompany them home. In addition to the younger siblings kicking a ball around the yard, there are plenty of children with working pararound the yard, there are plenty of children with working par-ents, waiting for their parents’ arrival with the workday’s end.

To engage these younger children in the classroom while their older brothers and sisters are also in class is ideal – they are al-ready on school grounds, so it would be beneficial to make use of their time. CEP hopes to expand its full-day education to the younger students, but unfortunately does not have the capacity in classrooms or teachers at the moment.

A new portable classroom costs approximately $8,000 and could accommodate 25 students. This means just two class-rooms could allow a full-time program for younger students and provide an opportunity to advance their education. As much as the laughter and shrieks of kids playing warms the heart, a pro-ductive and educational use of time is within our reach.