ANERA and USAID build two new schools in the Jordan Valley

AL-‘AUJA, JORDAN VALLEY, January 29, 2008 | American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today held groundbreaking ceremonies at the construction sites of two new schools in the Jordan Valley.

As in many places in the West Bank, the schools in the Jordan Valley are overcrowded. Classes are big and children study in two shifts, providing too little time with the teachers. In some places, children have to walk long distances every day to reach their school.

To counteract these problems, ANERA is constructing two new schools in the Jordan Valley, one in Al-‘Auja and one in Bardala. The schools are constructed through the JOBS Program, funded by USAID.

Each school will have 12 classrooms, as well as a computer lab, a science lab, a library, a multipurpose room, management rooms, a cafeteria and a toilet block. According to plans, the schools will be ready in the end of July, in time for next school semester.

Building the schools not only provides classrooms for the children, but also approximately 9,000 employment days in a region where work is otherwise scarce.

The total budget for the construction of the two schools exceeds $1 million.

Prominent guests from the villages and the region as well as from USAID and ANERA were present at the groundbreaking ceremonies.

These included: Dr. Sa’eb Erekat, Head of the Negotiation Department - PLO; Dr Sami Musallam, Governor of Tubas; Mr Howard Sumka, USAID mission director; Mr Robert Crothers, ANERA Middle East Representative.

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Media Contact: Jamal Al-Aref
EWAS Chief of Party
02-627 7076
jaref@anera-jwg.org