For immediate release
27 January 2008

Fiji's school year opens today after being forced to remain closed for an extra week due to heavy rain and severe flooding that devastated the western areas of Fiji.

Since the onset of flooding two weeks ago, Save the Children has been coordinating with other relief agencies - including the Interim Government Disaster Management Centre (DISMAC) - to get as many children as possible back to school. Save the Children will provide school children in the western areas of Fiji with healthy lunches, bus fares and education materials like pencils and notebooks. Save the Children is also accepting donations to ensure that as many children as possible can be reached.

Children affected by natural disasters often miss out on weeks, months and sometimes years of education. Save the Children identified, during assessment of the flood-damaged regions, that damage to food crops and loss of seasonal jobs mean families have less money to spend on their children's education.

"Natural disasters have a devastating impact on children and their education", says Save the Children New Zealand Emergency Programme Manager Mike Frew. "Schools are damaged, destroyed or closed; parents lose the means to pay for their children's education. Time and again, children affected by a natural disaster tell relief workers that they just want to go back to school."

The start of the school year has been already been delayed for a week because school buildings were either damaged or served as evacuation centres for those forced to leave their homes. Now that the flood waters have receded and the majority of evacuees have returned to their homes, schools are reopening for the New Year.

"Providing bus fares, school lunches and writing materials will ensure that children won't miss out on vital education in the aftermath of this natural disaster," says Mike Frew. "School re-establishes a daily routine and gives children the chance to share feelings and experiences with their peers. These are important factors in helping a child recover from the stress and disorder created by a natural disaster".

Save the Children intends to provide 1500 Fijian school children with school lunches, bus fares and educational materials for the first school term. Save the Children is accepting donations to provide more children with these education provisions.

ENDS

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