Today is the first-ever International Day of Education, a day declared by the United Nations, in celebration of the role education plays in achieving global peace and development. There are more than 262 million children and youth who do not attend school, including 4 million refugee children. This means that opportunities for stimulation, safety, growth, and hope are missed for millions of kids around the world.

JRS/USA believes that education is a life-saving intervention for displaced people and celebrates International Day of Education and global efforts to ensure quality education can be accessed by all.

“We know from our work with refugees around the world, that education is an intervention that offers an important form of protection and engenders hope as it prepares refugees to meet future challenges. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be educated and fulfill their dreams,” said Joan Rosenhauer, JRS/USA’s Executive Director. “On the first-ever International Day of Education, we urge everyone to recognize the importance of a quality education for displaced children, and policymakers to make universal, quality education a leading priority. JRS/USA will continue to strive to ensure that refugees and displaced individuals receive the support and educational services they deserve.”

In our education programs in 42 countries around the world, we are committed to ensuring quality learning opportunities for all. We offer displaced families and children formal and informal instruction, including pre-school, primary, secondary, professional and, post-secondary education. We provide special education, distance education, scholarships, life-skills and vocational training, adult literacy, computer and language classes, and accelerated learning programs. JRS’s commitment is also expressed in our ambitious international campaign, the Global Education Initiative (GEI). The Goal of the GEI is to expand and strengthen our educational services by opening the doors of our education programs to 250,000 refugees by 2020.

For more information on the International Day of Education and ways to get involved, please visit https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/educationday.