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Tripoli, 6 March 2013:
More teachers will be trained in an education programme to help keep Libyan children safe from the dangers still posed by mines, weapons and unexploded ordinance.
The programme is turning teachers across the country into ‘master trainers,’ who can show other teaching staff how to raise awareness among children, in everyday schooling, about the dangers of mines and playing with unexploded ordinance.
The initiative, which was started late last year, is part of a Ministry of Education project to bring mine and weapons risk education into the mainstream schooling of Libyan children. The project is supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and mine action groups.
By creating 250 ‘master trainers’ who can pass their knowledge on to other teachers, the project hopes to stop children from playing with dangerous remnants of war, preventing injuries and saving lives.
Implemented with Handicap International, the scheme has already had an impact. UNICEF has been visiting schools to see the success of the first round of the project. “36 master trainers successfully trained a total of 121 new teachers in the cities of Zawia, Sabratha, Tripoli, Sebha and Al-Shatti,” said UNICEF in its latest report.
“It is critical that more teachers get trained so that we can spread the safety messages to as many children as possible,” Najia Subhi, from the Ministry of Education, told UNICEF. “The ongoing support from UNICEF and its partners is critical in this regard,” she added.
UNICEF and Mine Action partners are also helping the Ministry of Education to develop a teacher training kit that can be used in the classroom.
The kit, which is nearly ready, will give teachers materials to help them create specific lessons that can teach children about the risks posed by mines, unexploded ordinance and remnants of war. [/restrict]
