UNICEF receives stationery for 97,000 war-affected school children

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has received stationery worth US $64,000 to be distributed to school children and teachers in zones affected by the October 2002 to March 2003 civil war in the Central African Republic, an official told IRIN on Monday. UNICEF Education Programme Officer Sophie Ndanguere said the shipment that reached the capital, Bangui, on Friday included 90,000 notebooks, 45,000 pens and 1,540 boxes of chalk. She said UNICEF and the government were preparing for a distribution of the supplies next week in the northern provinces of Ouham Pende, Ouham and Nana Grebizi. These provinces were among the worst affected by the six-month rebellion that ended on 15 March with Francois Bozize overthrowing President Ange-Felix Patasse. The war forced thousands of people, including school children and teachers, to abandon their homes. In June, UNICEF helped the government transport about 600 teachers back to their regions. A UN mission that visited the north in early August reported that about 70 percent of school children had resumed classes. The return of the displaced was facilitated by the government's efforts in returning administrative authorities, and by the operations of the regional force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States. "We will distribute school stationery only to those who attend class," Ndanguere said. According to the readjusted school calendar in the war-affected zones, the current school year, which started on 2 May, will end in late November, and the next will start in mid-December. The war and repeated strikes of teachers demanding payment of salaries were responsible for the delays. The news of UNICEF's aid to schools comes as the UN World Food Programme has obtained authorisation from the ministry of education to start food distributions in schools in the north.