USA (MNN) Last year, the UNHCR reported the number of refugee children out of school increased by half a million in one year.
The organization’s statistics show that four million refugee children are out of school. Sixty-one percent of refugee children attend primary school, 23 percent attend secondary school, and only one percent attend tertiary school.
With every higher level of education, schooling becomes more out of reach and seemingly impossible to attend for refugee youths.
However, it doesn’t have to be.
Tent Schools’ Coin Drive
Tent Schools International is working through their coin drive project to make education more accessible to school-aged refugee children in refugee camps, and the organization is inviting you to participate.
“It’s a fundraising activity made firstly for classrooms and Sunday schools, also for parents, teachers, and other adults involved… Anyone can do coin drives. It’s schools, church[es], offices, organizations, and they can take place anywhere in the United States,” Tent Schools’ Rawan Haddad says.
“We will send the canisters along with information about the ministry, and this is [to] help the displaced children in the Middle East.”
For willing participants in the local area of Grand Rapids, MI, Tent Schools will be happy to come to your school or church and share a presentation to speak about the ministry and help launch the coin drive.
For participants who are not central to the organization, Tent Schools will send a video to share about the ministry’s primary goal, which is to provide schooling in refugee camps by establishing tent schools.
For schools involved, Tent Schools recommends ten days for the campaign. For churches, it recommends one month.
Over these periods of time, participants should fill up the canisters sent by Tent Schools with coins. Once the drive is finished, they can count the coins, deposit them, and send a check to Tent Schools to help make a direct impact in the lives of refugee students.
Following, participants can keep the canister and refill them with spare change to continue making a difference.
Tent Schools is specifically encouraging kids to help kids. They have a vision to see students in the U.S. raise support for refugee kids on the other side of the world.
“Let’s make our children influential in the lives of displaced children and someday, these kids may influence ours in a positive way as well,” Haddad says.
“For now, these displaced children can see and experience the love of Jesus through our kids… Our goal in the end [is] just to let these
(Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International)
kids know Jesus and to encourage our kids to just be effective in their life.”
Education makes a way for refugee children to do something more in their lives and to have a future.
Help encourage and “make a difference in the lives of children who have lost the meaning of life.” Give hope for a better future by providing education to the four million refugee children who are unable to attend school.
Sign up to start a coin drive with Tent Schools here.
Header photo courtesy of Tent Schools International
