by Beth Mckinney

Created on: November 28, 2009   Last Updated: December 09, 2009

Schools are as important as blankets in refugee camps. Successful programs in Africa have used outside resources to build on each community's own efforts and responded to its unique emotional needs and cultural values.

Emergency Schools Benefit from Teachers in Crisis

According to a report written by Marc Sommers and sponsored by the Mellon Foundation, education during emergencies is a lifesaving strategy. Because many of the forced evacuations in Africa are the result of armed conflict, boys who do not attend school may be more easily recruited into violent militias.

However, when children are displaced, so are teachers. Therefore, concerned families work quickly with the professionals in their midst to set up emergency educational programs. This sometimes occurs even before aid organizations have arrived to distribute supplies, Therefore, successful programs use outside resources to support these efforts instead of trying to replace them.

Successful Emergency Schools Assess and Address Mental Health Needs

Education can also be a therapeutic intervention. Without emergency education, children may spend empty hours replaying the violent traumatic experiences that led them to the refugee camps. School can provide a focus outside the trauma, which may make the eventual healing much easier. Without schools, children are left to handle these memories alone.

Teachers at these emergency schools are often better able to identify students and families who need further help than newly arrived professionals might be. Further, assessing these needs through community structures such as schools is often more effective than trying to hold individual screenings, as J.P. de Jong noted in an article entitled The Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Rwandan and Burundese Refugee Camps.

Emergency Education that is Truly African

UNICEF, UNESCO and other aid agencies do recognize the urgent need for developing educational programs in response to emergencies. They have developed their own curriculum, which is packaged with a teacher's guide and school supplies and shipped from warehouses in response to crises (Lange).

However, these materials may not be appropriate for all African refugees. Many teachers among the refugee population have expressed disappointment in TEP. They felt it had nothing to do with their traditional culture, history and values and did not meet the needs of their students.

Therefore, the most effective practice may be to support the refugees' own educational

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