by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: December 08, 2009

The African refugee camps were established as a temporary measure when tribes moved into certain geographical areas because of the need for workers. The aspect no one thought of was that the standards within the camps are so poor that children are not getting what they need in the way of general care. It is extremely hard for children living in deprived conditions to learn, although many do, against all odds. Parents of children in these circumstances value education if they are educated themselves, or have the forethought to see that the future of their children depends upon it. However, the very structure of the African family means that often children are depended upon to perform menial tasks as a responsibility to their families.

~Historically.

In a report by Barbara Harrell Bond, the historical story of the formation of camps up until present day practices shows that many children lack the basic necessities of life which others take for granted. Many of these children are given clothing on a one off basis, and do not have the basic facilities to wash themselves or their clothing. Many have lost parents. Yet more suffer from health problems and are aware that death isn't uncommon, meaning that the children are more vulnerable than in society in general. The idea was that by gathering people together and relocating them to areas where there was work, this would improve their lives. Instead, what happened was that all kinds of people from different backgrounds were placed into camps and that they were forced to live among strangers.

~Achievement.

Her report goes on to say that children still achieve basic educational standards against all odds, and that there is a system of education in place for them, no matter how basic. Pass rates for children are higher than expected, though many will never see higher education. Even though UNESCO takes an active role to work to reconstruct the educational system, little is done to improve the lot of those displaced citizens within the refugee camps. It is recognized that an illiteracy rate of 60% among Africa's adult population means that children don't have the same chance as in other parts of the world to depend upon parents to help them to learn.

~So what is being done for the children of African Refugee camps?

One of the greatest problems faced is that if children are educated and then relocated back to their place of origin, how will they continue their education? UNISEF have ensured that there is some kind

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