they seem keenon this lesson, their
real enthusiasm showswhenPer Storli
– apilot his colleaguedescribes as
“footballmad” – askswhat football
team they support. They all shout team
names at once.
Later, on thecentre’s football pitch,
Storli has apresent for them–anew
football,which isquicklypumpedup
andput togooduse. Theboys’ passion
ispalpable, and they runcircles around
most of thecrew volunteers,whose
play ismoreenthusiastic than skilful.
What’s striking about thesechildren
is their apparent happiness and
confidence. In theplayground, girls
such as eight-year-old Sidra andnine-
year-old Yasminahangupsidedown
frommonkey bars and fearlessly throw
themselves down slides. Oneof the
centre’s volunteers, Kifia, herself a
Syrian refugee, tells thecrew this is
because thecentres encourage them
tobe free, and so they start tohelp
eachother toheal.
“They all have the samecycle,” she
says. “They tend to start off shy andnot
engagingwithother kids, but over time
you see theothers are sooutgoing, and
they like theplaceandareused to the
situation, it helps them. Thesecentres
let them just live their childhood.”
She iswell awareof the situation,
having come to Jordanwithher family
two years ago; her three girls aged
seven, nine and 11 arepupils here. A
pharmacy student back in Syria, she
nowhelps toencourageother parents
to trust thecentre, andothers like it.
Still, despite thehopeful signs, the
bigger picture is still bleak. This centre
is only able tohelp 100children– and
there arenow fourmilliondisplaced
Syrians. It’s clear this one flight
isn’t going tochange the situation
dramatically, however, asBerntG
Apeland, executivedirector of UNICEF
Norway, says: “Even though this is a
small drop in thecampaign toprevent
a lost generationof Syrianchildren,
every drop is important.”
And, hopefully, it isnot just school
supplies thathavebeen left inJordan.
On theplanehome,Hidosaysshewants
her story tobringhope. “Thishappened
tomewhen Iwas twoyearsold,”she
told thechildren in thecamp. “I have
seenwhat youhaveseenbutnow I am
OK. Pleasebelieve–youcanbeOK too.”
NorwegianandUNICEFhavebeen
working togethersince2007.Asa
SignaturePartner toUNICEF,Norwegian
supports theorganisation’sworkgiving
children thebest start in life.
unicef.no
UNICEF at
Christmas
Anew TV ad says you
canmake adifference
with just a fewclicks
Mother Teresa,Gandhi
and Jesus are talking
about their gooddeeds
during their timeon
Earth. Jesus then asks
the fourthmember at
the tablewhat hehas
done. “I just clicked a
banner,”he replies.
Thishumorous TV ad
underlines that today it’s
easier thanever tomake
adifference inchildren’s
lives –children likeAnny
Love, youngest child
of IsidonieNiyonzima
(
bothpicturedabove
), in
Itabacommune, central
Burundi. The31-year-old
mother of fourwas very
worriedwhenAnny Love
contracteddiarrhoea at
sevenmonths.
According toDr Sophie
Leonard, chief of health
andnutrition atUNICEF
Burundi, “Diarrhoea
andmalariaareamong
themainchildkillers in
Burundi, accounting for
18per cent of all deaths
of childrenunder five.”
Yet they areeasily
preventable through
goodhealth and
nutritionpractices,
andare treatable at a
community level. Isidonie
tookher son to see
their communityhealth
worker and after a short
treatment of zinc and
oral rehydration salts,
Anny Lovehad regained
his strength.Oral
rehydration salts areone
ofmany gifts youcan
buy forChristmas at the
UNICEFweb shop,where
a fewclicks really can
make adifference in a
child’s life.
verdensgaver.no
Clockwise from above
⁄
OneofZa’atari’sMakani schools;NorwegianCEOBjørn
KjoshelpsoffloadsupplieswithUNICEFNorway’sBernt
GApeland; theplanefilledwithsupplies
BURUNDI WORDS: HELENE SANDBU RYENG, PHOTO: UNICEF/LUTHI
092\
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