Palestinian refugee children return to school in Lebanon with UN, EU aid

Tens of thousands of Palestinian children in Lebanon returned to school Friday with new learning materials provided by the United Nations and the European Union (EU), the United Nations said. Some 40,000 students from 69 schools across Lebanon, including 7,000 refugees displaced by the armed conflict raging in Syria, will receive new "Back-to-School" kits from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the EU, according to the UN officials. Ann Dismorr, director for the UNRWA's Lebanon bureau, was quoted by officials as saying that "the enrollment rate of Palestine refugee students from Syria double over the past weeks," at a ceremony in Sidon, south Lebanon. She thanked the UNICEF and the EU for their contributions to supporting the UNRWA's education program. As one of the largest UNRWA partners in education and health for children, the UNICEF has provided 1.03 million dollars since 2011 for learning support activities, including the back-to-school kits, the officials said, adding that education, protection and health assistance has totaled nearly 1.2 million dollars this year. Since 2005, the EU have donated some 32.5 million dollars to the UNRWA, according to official figures.