February 23, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 24, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: The October 8 quake has provided the camp children, especially the girls, with an opportunity for the first time in their life to go to the schools established by the international NGOs.

Fourteen-year-old Nazbergam and her sister Sabermina, 15, had been living in Banda Sahib Khan relief camp in NWFP since the quake turned their house into rubble. Though the scars of the catastrophe are still writ large on their faces, its only redeeming feature is that they have started going to the school.

Across the quake-affected region, Unicef and Save the Children had established improvised schools in relief camps providing young children with access to education during the winter months. The facilities were no more than a notepad and a spot on a ground-sheet but the classrooms were full and the students boisterous.

A statement issued here on Tuesday said Saima had been teaching at Banda Sahib Khan School since it was established. She continued to receive her salary though her school in Balakot had turned into a rubble. Most of her new pupils were under 10 and some as old as 17. For nearly everyone, this was their first experience of a classroom.

“The older girls are keen to seek education. Their maturity means they learn more quickly than the younger children. But girls such as Nazbergam and Sabermina often feel a bit shy in the classroom,” said Saima. Many children, she said, were coping with the loss of their homes and the death of loved ones.

Addressing the educational needs of such a diverse group while remaining sensitive to often fragile emotions could require a reinterpretation of traditional teaching methods.

The school was never an option for most of these girls. Like Nazbergam and Sabermina, they were expected to help their mothers with domestic chores. Where village schools did exist, enrolment was often just for boys.

In the Meira relief camp, the largest in NWFP, teachers estimated that up to three quarters of their girl students had never attended the school.

Leila Mukaram, a UNHCR field officer, daily visits Meira camp to monitor the operations.

“We now have 2,700 children attending classes during morning and afternoon sessions,” she said. “But, there are still children who aren’t enrolled. To reach them, we need to raise awareness of the importance of education among their parents.”

Working alongside their peers, Nazbergam and Sabermina had discovered a world that was previously off limits. Allowed into the classroom, they were now reluctant to leave.

“When we will return to our village, I hope we will have an opportunity to continue our schooling,” said Sabermina as she and her sister returned to the family tent.