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Despite their terrible loss, Fawzana and her family seem to have found a measure of comfort and stability in their daily routine. Fawzana’s father helps cut bread for her breakfast while she sleepily brushes her hair and gets her books ready. Then he drives his daughters and their friends to school. The Zahira school has been rebuilt. It now has high, protective walls and an effective electrical system, which the old building lacked. In one new room, rows of computers wait for children to start working the keyboards. Zahira, which serves 500 students, is now equipped with modern, separate toilet facilities for girls and boys. Zahira is one of 35 new schools UNICEF has been helping to build in Sri Lanka following the tsunami. Next door, builders are hard at work on a new secondary school. In Hambantota, as elsewhere, a school has an importance beyond its bricks and mortar. “In the aftermath of the disaster, you have to consider the psychological factor,” says English teacher S.M. Risham. “You know when the students get back to school they have the opportunity of sharing their experience. At the same time they can get a valuable education so that they’ll be able to stand on their own feet.” A new startFawzana and her classmates haven’t forgotten the tsunami. She’s still afraid of the sea at times, especially if it’s rough. But she is also beginning to turn her mind to the future. “I want to be a teacher because I want to follow my mother. I want to see other children studying and I want to help them do that in the future.” Back on the seafront, new fishing boats form a colourful arc, a strong sign that the local fishing industry is being restored. And just as Hambantota’s fishing fleet is a vital economic lifeline, its schools are anchors for the whole community. For Fawzana personally, the revival of the Zahira school represents a new start and new hope.         var emailarticleloc = location.href; emailarticleloc = emailarticleloc.replace("http://www.unicef.org",""); emailarticleloc = emailarticleloc.replace("http://unicef.org",""); var emailarticle = "Email this article Email this article var pageURL = encodeURIComponent("http://www.unicef.org/emerg/disasterinasia/index_36576.html"); var pageTitle = ''; pageTitle = encodeURIComponent("A new school means new hope in tsunami-stricken Hambantota, Sri Lanka").replace(/\'/g,'%27'); var pageBlurb = encodeURIComponent(("HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka, December 2006 – The wave of destruction that swept through Hambantota – a town known for its fishing industry on Sri Lanka’s south coast – is still visible two years later.").replace(/\s+/g,' ').replace(/^\s*/,'')).replace(/\'/g,'%27'); var pageImageOriginal = ""; var pageTitleOriginal = "A new school means new hope in tsunami-stricken Hambantota, Sri Lanka"; var pageBlurbOriginal = "HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka, December 2006 – The wave of destruction that swept through Hambantota – a town known for its fishing industry on Sri Lanka’s south coast – is still visible two years later."; var pageURLOriginal = "http://www.unicef.org/emerg/disasterinasia/index_36576.html"; function createBlogBox(id) { var s = ".unicef_embed h3 a:hover { text-decoration: unde

Education enhances lives. It ends generational cycles of poverty and disease and provides a foundation for sustainable development. A quality basic education better equips girls and boys with the knowledge and skills  necessary to adopt healthy lifestyles, protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and take an active role in social, economic and political decision-making as they transition to adolescence  and adulthood. Educated adults are more likely to have fewer children, to be informed about appropriate child-rearing practices and to ensure that their children start school on time and are ready to learn.

Education is a fundamental human right: Every child is entitled to it. It is critical to our development as individuals and as societies, and it helps pave the way to a successful and productive future. When we ensure that children have access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality, we create a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts generations to come.

In addition, a rights-based approach to education can address some of societies’ deeply rooted inequalities. These inequalities condemn millions of children, particularly girls, to a life without quality education – and, therefore, to a life of missed opportunities. UNICEF works tirelessly to ensure that every child – regardless of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background or circumstances – has access to a quality education. We focus on gender equality and work towards eliminating disparities of all kinds. Our innovative programmes and initiatives target the world’s most disadvantaged children: the excluded, the vulnerable and the invisible.

Support school construction, provide educational materials, train teachers With your help, “Schools for Africa” will support the construction and reconstruction of schools and the provision of education materials in six African countries, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It will develop training programmes for teachers and strengthen school governance and management. In the six countries, schools will be established mainly in rural areas.