BACK TO SCHOOL

School supplies including backpacks and stationary were donated to more than 400 displaced children.

Members of IID unload school supplies donated by Veterans Rebuilding Life and Without Borders.

Veterans Rebuilding Life responded to a request from local authorities in the Ranya district of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, to assist displaced children gain access to education.

Ranya, situated near the northeastern border of Iraq, has experienced an influx of civilians fleeing from ISIS since 2014, along with Syrian refugees. Many are unable to return home because their towns have been reduced to rubble.

This situation has strained the already impoverished town, which has become a frequent departure point for migrants vulnerable to human traffickers. Over 7,000 people attempting to cross to Europe have fallen victim to human traffickers in the Raparin district, which includes Ranya and the nearby town of Qaladze.

VRL and its nonprofit partners: the Iraqi Institute for Development (IID) and Without Borders (WB) responded to a request from the Dept. of Education in Ranya to provide school supplies, including backpacks and stationary, to approximately 400 impoverished children who are unable to attend school. Their families were displaced due to the aftermath of ISIS.

On their part, the Dept. of Education is distributing the school supplies to this new influx of internally displaced children, with the condition that their parents ensure their enrollment in school for the entire academic year.

“It has been our experience that children are less likely to drop out of school once they’ve been in the system for a whole academic year,” said Ayad Saleh, founder of IID.