THE HAGUE–The assistance the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF Netherlands has been providing in St. Maarten since Hurricane Irma is highlighted in the organisation’s 2017 annual report published this week.
UNICEF Netherlands sent a team of emergency aid experts to St. Maarten right after the hurricane had struck to assess the situation of the children and to start providing assistance where needed. UNICEF workers have been on the island ever since, focusing on the schools and their pupils.
In close cooperation with St. Maarten’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice, UNICEF Netherlands made an assessment of the situation of children, teachers and personnel of primary schools, secondary schools, day care centres and foster care institutions. A total of 19 schools were visited.
UNICEF Netherlands also advised the authorities about the re-opening of schools early October last year and was involved in the drafting of plans for the education sector as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
In 2018 the UNICEF experts will be assisting the schools in St. Maarten to better prepare for natural disasters and to help children to cope psychologically with the impact of this hurricane and possible next disasters.
“It is important that schools are rebuilt hurricane-proof and that all teachers, pupils, students and parents are prepared for future disasters,” it was stated. UNICEF will also continue to render advice and support in the area of children’s rights to the St. Maarten Government.
The Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK has made 453,000 euros available to UNICEF for this project, while the Netherlands Red Cross has agreed to contribute 750,000 euros.
St. Maarten and its children after the hurricane have become a new responsibility of UNICEF Netherlands. The organisation has four main themes: refugee children, emergency assistance, combating infant mortality and improving children’s rights.
The work in St. Maarten is new for UNICEF Netherlands, it was stated in the report. “Since 2017, we have added a fifth responsibility: we are carrying out an important aid project for the children who were hit by Hurricane Irma. This means the direct contracting and guiding of relief workers, which resulted in an expansion of our regular work.”
UNICEF Netherlands continued to dedicate additional attention to children’s rights in the Dutch Caribbean in 2017. Reports and investigations have shown that many children on the islands are suffering due to poverty and domestic violence. UNICEF Netherlands has been working with the local governments and organisations to improve children’s rights.
In 2017, educational material about children’s rights was developed for teachers in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Multiple training sessions were facilitated for the teachers of the seven primary schools in Bonaire. World’s Children Day on November 20 was celebrated in the schools of the Caribbean Netherlands.
Children’s rights training sessions will be continued in 2018 to broaden and deepen the knowledge and understanding of children’s rights. There will be extra attention for the way the teachers use what they have learnt at the training sessions in the classroom.
UNICEF Netherlands contributed in 2017 to a conference on upbringing for more than 100 professionals. The objective of the conference was to stimulate dialogue about upbringing of children. A follow-up conference will take place in Curaçao in 2018.
A special edition of the Children’s Rights Festival was initiated in St. Eustatius in 2017. Children were invited to make a movie about a child’s right that they deemed important. The programme has been expanded to the other five Dutch Caribbean islands, with financial aid from the BZK Ministry, and the first Children’s Rights Film Festival held this month was a great success.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/75923-prominent-spot-for-st-maarten-in-unicef-2017-annual-report
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