Al Jeel School Restores Hopes for Thousands of Children in Ma’rib

Ma’rib - Late last year, armed clashes in Ma’rib shut the doors of many schools and caused thousands of families to flee and seek safety throughout conflict-affected Ma’rib.  Eighteen-year-old Hamzah Abdulrahman was one of many students who had to put their education on hold when the conflict escalated.

“The war dispersed us. It made us drop out of school. We were lost,” explained Hamzah, as he recalled how it felt when his school in Harib had to shut down.

Hamzah’s father was determined to find a way to take his children to a safer place where they could get back to class. They settled in Ma’rib City and he searched everywhere for a school that would take new students.

Many of the schools in the area were structurally unsound. They had damaged latrines and sewer systems, and their classrooms were overcrowded with many students sitting on the floor during class.

Furthermore, the competition over limited seats in the classrooms had exacerbated the tension between the host and displaced communities.

When his father heard about a newly constructed school, he was thrilled to finally find a suitable school for his son, Hamzah.

A continual influx of displaced people in Ma’rib has put extra pressure on the already fragile and weak infrastructure facilities like hospitals and schools. Nearly 3,000 schools have been destroyed, damaged or used for non-educational purposes in Yemen.

“It was hard for us to miss a year of school, especially at this age when we are looking forward to finishing our studies with good grades to plan for our future,” said Hamzah.

“We must continue studying. We have nothing without education,” he added.

According to the UN Children’s Fund, only two-thirds of Yemen’s schools are fully functional. More than 2.4 million Yemeni children are out of school and millions more, especially young girls, are at high risk of dropping out.  

In 2021, The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) inaugurated a new school that now welcomes thousands of students impacted by the conflict.

After two years of dedicated construction work, Al Jeel School is now fully functional. It is located just across the road from Al Jufainah Site, Yemen’s largest displacement site, with 1000 families from various Yemeni governorates.

“I faced a lot of difficulties at the beginning. I was missing my friends and my old school, but through the support of my parents, I started to love my new school and make new friends here,” explained Hamzah about his transition to his new school.

“I also admire the teachers for continuing their great work despite the difficulties they face,” he added.

 Hamzah is now studying in the second year of high school at Al Jeel.

The school is 14,000 square metres and comprises of 18 classrooms including two chemistry and physics labs, one computer lab and several offices for teachers and administrators.

It is also equipped with a cafeteria, a fully functioning water and sewage system, as well as a playground, and a volleyball pitch. There is also some extra land surrounded by a fence, so it can be used to expand the school in the future.

Like Abdulrahman, Ameen was also looking for a less crowded school for his children.

“The task is not easy as there is a limited number of schools in this city, but most of them are overcrowded with more than 120 students per class,” said Ameen who resides in Al Jufainah with his four children.

“Students also have to take public transportation and walk through the crowded city by themselves for a long distance to go to school which puts them at risk.”

Ameen managed to enroll one of his children in Al Jeel school.

“It is much better here.  This school is in a safe and central area, and the level of education is perfect here,” said Ameen.

The KSrelief funded school was designed using Yemeni traditional stones and decoration – also known as Qamaria – and adheres to modern, international standards of construction.

“This intervention had a significant impact on the community as it relieves and eases many tensions that used to arise between displaced and host communities over the increasing need for schools in the area,” said Abdullah Ahmed, an IOM Technical Assistant.

The equipped school hosts more than 2,500 students, at the primary and secondary levels, from the conflict-affected children – including residents of Al Jufainah and inhabitants of the west part of Ma’rib city.

Fatima is one of the 40 teachers and administrators on staff at Al Jeel School. She teaches Arabic language.

“In the past, there were no schools in this area. When this school was opened, the overcrowding in other schools decreased,” explained Fatima.

“Many children who were out of school in the displacement site were now able to come back. Students were coming to us full of hope and excitement,” she added, noting the huge impact the school had on students living in Al Jufainah.

Education is a fundamental human right for all children. It plays a pivotal role in changing the future of communities and contributing to sustainable recovery from the crisis.

Schools give hope to children for a better tomorrow and prepare them for future challenges.

“Most of the students come here because they cannot study in camps where they’ve been displaced to.  They seek a more secure school that provides them with a good learning environment,” said Ahmed, the Principal of Al Jeel School in Ma’rib.

Al Jeel school is one of 15 schools that IOM and KSrelief partnered to construct or rehabilitate in four governorates around Yemen to give children a brighter future.

Authors: Elham Al Oqabi and Mennatallah Homaid – IOM Yemen communication Assistants