Mohamed Salim Mera'aey, a secondary school student, was shocked to see the dire situation in his old school: Classrooms were without windows, desks and WC's broken, and sewerage lines blocked – a scene that inspires awe and frustration, making student lose interest in going to school. For Mohamed Mera'aey and his colleagues the school environment was no longer attractive.
School Shuttered
Engineer Fadhel Ali Mohamed lives in the District of Houta, in the Governorate of Lahj. He works in the Education Office of the governorate. Fadhel speaks about the situation in Lahj by saying: "it's one of the areas that sustained heavy damages to its schools, because the three-year old crises brought the educational process into a complete halt. Students in the area, especially secondary school students, face difficult times in continuing their education," he said.
"I was happy to see that people in the area, and nearby areas, will benefit from the school. All classrooms and laboratories will be renovated. This means that the school will not only benefit the residents of the district, but all the other districts due to the significance placed on secondary education by residents," he added.
Al-Farouq school in Houtah-Lahj had its share of the current crises. It was used as a detention center, then turned into a shelter for IDPs - effectively ending its function as an educational institution.
After the rehabilitation subproject in the school was completed, Fadhel said "I now see students from all over the district pouring into al-Farouq Secondary School building. The renovated school is saving time and sparing the students the hardship they used to endure to go to other schools in the distance in their quest for a better life."
Safeguarding the Present and the Future
The PWP's intervention in the rehabilitation of al-Farouq Secondary School safeguards the present and the future. According to Shakeeb Mohamed Salim, a member of the beneficiaries committee, 900 students are now studying in the school.
He continues by saying: "The school covers a number of neighborhoods in the city of Houta. Going out of service, meant student dropping out in droves and added another layer of hardship for the parents in their quest to educate their children – causing confusion in the educational process in the entire city."
Most Important
Residents were looking at the sorry state of the school, asking themselves: Would there be a savior for this school? An answer to that came when social workers from the PWP came down to the field to identify priority needs for the residents of Houta. The visit brought glad tidings that revived hopes in the souls of the residents and their children.
Awadh Saleem points out that the residents and IDPs in Houta were of one opinion: Priority was for the rehabilitation of the school, above all else, to ensure the resumption of school for their children to save them from going astray.
Another Benefit
The rehabilitation of the school also created work for many unemployed workers, both residents and IDPs, according to Mahdi Alawi. Alawi was able to work for 25 days during the rehabilitation of the school, earning a daily wage that was enough to provide for his family.