Riyadh, April 1, 2021, SPA -- Education forms a basic pillar for the development of countries and peoples and realizing decent living conditions for mankind. King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has placed the education sector at the top of its priorities, harnessing a big support and major projects to this important sector in targeted and afflicted countries. To that end, KSrelief, since its establishment, has implemented 84 educational projects in needy countries, including Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Mali, Sudan, Iraq, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, with a total cost of $198,936 with the aim of supporting educational services, preparing school infrastructure, securing operational costs, providing school equipment for students, in addition to improving teachers’ skills, building the capabilities of children specialists in providing psychological and social support, and supporting children’s mothers through awareness educational programs. KSrelief has also signed several agreements with UN and international organizations to support and finance education sectors in needy and afflicted countries, in addition to cooperation with these international organizations in implementing relevant schemes. In this regard, the center signed an agreement with UNICEF to implement seven various projects with a total value of $46 million for Yemen, with the aim of supporting access of Yemeni children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to educational opportunities through distance learning, developing preparedness plans for the return to schools in a safe way, building up the capabilities of educational cadres and institutions through offering training programs and increasing awareness on dealing with the pandemic within the educational environment in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and local channels in 20 Yemeni governorates. KSrelief, in cooperation with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) offices in Arab countries, implemented three educational projects in Yemen with the aim of enhancing educational opportunities for drop-out children, providing drop-out children with educational opportunities through catch-up programs and alternative courses for education, as well as developing contents and resources related to the fourth goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on quality education. The center, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, has also implemented assistance projects to help integrate returning and displaced students in host communities in Lahij Governorate, Yemen with a cost of $1 million. KSrelief also signed agreements to implement two executive projects with UNESCO, the first to support the continuation of elementary education for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the other to establish strategic cooperation and partnership between the center and the organization. The first venture aims at expanding opportunities of access to education and guaranteeing the continuation of education for Syrian students in Lebanon, and supporting the rehabilitation of mothers to help them acquire necessary skills, where 10,800 beneficiaries have benefited from the project whose total value stood at $3 million. The second project aims at establishing a strategic cooperation and partnership between KSrelief and UNESCO in the field of educational programs at the levels of building capacities, training, information exchange, studies and research. These efforts add to KSrelief’s cooperation with UNICEF in conducting educational services project, health rehabilitation and protection for disabled Syrian children refugees, with a total value of $1.213 million. In cooperation with UNESCO, the center has launched the “Qudurat” (abilities) project to support distance learning in afflicted areas of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, with the aim of enhancing educational capabilities for access to children and supporting the remote educational process at communities affected by the blast in a way that guarantees continued education, with focus on building up teachers’ skills and capabilities. KSrelief also signed an agreement with UNICEF to offer educational services and protection to children in facing the COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia, benefiting 18,250 children with a total value of $619,980. All these schemes are part of the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief, to stand with brotherly and friendly countries during the times of crises, so as to guarantee sustainable educational process and developing the education sector in these countries. --SPA 16:32 LOCAL TIME 13:32 GMT 0022 www.spa.gov.sa/w1534833