Syria boy wins Children’s Peace Prize for building refugee school

A teenage Syrian refugee has won the International Children’s Peace Prize after building a school in Lebanon for hundreds of fellow children fleeing the conflict, Reuters reported on Monday.

Mohamad Al-Jounde was just 12 years old when he decided to set up a school in the Bekaa Valley refugee camp, and with the help of his friends and relatives, constructed the building and recruited teachers. He himself worked as a teacher in the school, teaching maths and photography.

Three years on, the school now hosts some 200 children, as well as some professional teachers, offering a range of classes to children as young as five, and even literacy classes for adults.

“This is not just about teaching reading and writing, but giving young refugees a safe space to express themselves,” the 16-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

Activist Malala Yousufzai, a previous winner of the award, was also present at the ceremony in The Hague and praised Al-Jounde’s effort at building a future for his country.

As Mohamad knows, Syria’s future depends on its children – and their future depends on education

she said.

Read: Turkey rebuilds over 400 war-torn schools in Syria

As part of the prize, Al-Jounde has received a scholarship that enables the recipient to go through school, including earning a university degree, as well as living costs for the entire family of the awardee, if necessary.

More than 2.5 million Syrian children are refugees, about 500,000 of whom are residing in Lebanon, KidsRights said. Many struggle to access nutritious food or healthcare, and almost half of those aged between six and 14 are not in school.

“It is very important to give these children an education, otherwise they could become a lost generation,” Al-Jounde said.

International organisations have also regularly documented the plight of children inside Syria. A report from UNICEF released in September revealed that eight out of ten Syrian children are “children of war” and 1.7 million live in the most intense areas of the conflict, while two million cannot go to school.

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