After 14 long years of conflict, Syria finds itself at a pivotal moment, grappling with the enormous challenges of rebuilding while also holding onto the possibility of stability and renewal.
For an entire generation of children, war has been their only reality. Despite the widespread destruction, there is a faint but growing hope for a brighter future. Yet, the path forward remains precarious, filled with significant hurdles.
Syria’s healthcare system is teetering on the edge of collapse.
UNICEF reports that nearly 40% of hospitals and medical facilities are either partially operational or completely non-functional.
The education sector has suffered equally devastating blows, with thousands of schools destroyed or damaged, leaving over 2.4 million children without access to schooling.
This disruption in education has dire consequences, exposing children to increased dangers such as child labor, early marriage, human trafficking, and recruitment by armed groups.
Compounding these risks, communities throughout Syria are contaminated with the deadly remnants of war, including countless unexploded ordnances that continue to endanger lives, particularly those of children.
- 7.2 million internally displaced people live in Syria, including over 3 million children
- More than 7 million children in Syria require humanitarian assistance
- 85% of families in Syria are impoverished
- 5.7 million people in Syria do not have enough to eat
The Ann-Kathrin-Linsenhoff-Foundation for UNICEF has been supporting UNICEF activities in Syria for years, so that children can receive help even under the most difficult conditions, experience a bit of normality in their everyday lives and gain hope.
Because teaching in times of war is more than just imparting knowledge - school is hope for a better future.
In 2016, Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff was able to visit refugee shelters and schools in Lebanon to get an idea of the situation of the Syrian children who had fled and were taken in there.
On today's 14th anniversary of the Syrian conflict, we remember the people who have suffered so much.
We very much hope that reconstruction will take place as quickly as possible and that it will be possible to bring the conflict to a peaceful end in the foreseeable future.
The girls and boys deserve a life in peace!
Yours
sincerely
