NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) on Thursday launched a campaign to support hundreds of thousands of refugee youth in Kenya who do not attend school because of lack of funding.
The month-long partnership to raise money comes during the Muslims' holy month of Ramadan.
Fathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR representative in Kenya, said that out of the more than 450,000 refugees in the east Africa nation, only 13 percent of school-age children attend school.
"These are distressing statistics that reveal the disparagingly low number of refugees who access education in Kenya," Abdalla said. "Behind these statistics are children and youth, boys and girls who aspire to be teachers, doctors, business owners but instead they are sitting in limbo, waiting for a chance to fulfill their dreams.
She said a funding shortfall for UNHCR's education programs has resulted in the lack of basic infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teaching personnel essential to provide quality education to refugee children.
"By joining efforts with SUPKEM in this holy month of Ramadan, our hope is that we can draw attention and support to this growing crisis," Abdalla said.
Yusuf Nzibo, chairman of SUPKEM, said Ramadan is a time when Muslims embark on a path of spiritual self-reflection and intensify response to alleviate the suffering of others.
"Many refugees in Kenya have lived in forced displacement for over 20 years. They have grown up in camps without any hopes," he said.
