School kits launched in Djibouti for the third consecutive year

DJIBOUTI, 21 September 2006 – UNICEF, USAID and the Ministry of Education jointly launched the third consecutive school kits distribution in Djibouti City.  This distribution will reach over 32,000 children all over the country.

The official ceremony was attended by a large number of dignitaries including, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy Djibouti Mr. David Ball, the Minister of Education Mr. Abdi Ibrahim Absieh, and the USAID Representative Mrs. Janet Schulman.

The kits contain pencils, pens, notebooks, glue, eraser and a plastic ruler along with a cloth school bag.

The distribution aims at directly supporting parents by providing school kits for every child thus ensuring greater child enrollment and reintegration.  The Minister of Education stressed that parents who have financial difficulties and are often obliged to take their children out of school will now be able to keep their children in school.  He added that the collaboration between his department, USAID and UNICEF is a success.

DCM David Ball took this opportunity to convey his special thanks to UNICEF for providing technical support to ensure that all school kits were delivered on time along with 100,000 school manuals and 150,000 pedagogical modules provided last year. 

School kits were distributed to children attending primary school while pedagogical materials were given to their teachers.  The cost of a school kit is approximately $US4.00 and has contributed significantly in increasing school attendance during the last few years.