Refugee children attend school under a tree in Goz Amer camp. ©UNHCR/H.Caux

Refugees also need access to education.

All people should be able to go to school, to get the basic tools they will need to return home to lead their communities onward. Language, mathematics, and skills in the trades, agriculture and governance. These will be the tools of peace and safety for refugees when they find a place to call home.

But in countries where people are persecuted and in refugee camps where people are seeking only the basic levels of life — shelter, food, security and care for the sick — education seems like a luxury.

But at the UN Refugee Agency, we’re helping young people who face life and death struggles daily get access to education. Many have only received the harshest education of all: survival.

Young refugees dreams of a future when they are no longer refugees. They dream of peace and safety, and they dream of improving their lives. Education in the refugee camps is so vital to ensure that their dream becomes a reality.

Right now, UNHCR is caring for almost eight million young people worldwide under the age of 18. These children and teens are generally frightened and still mourning the loss of family, home and friends. Their situation is desperate, but they are getting our help to rebuild their young lives. With your support, we can provide them with the education and the tools to protect them and their children from abuse and exploitation.