‘Back to School’ For Tunisia Students

Some students in Tunisia were hesitant to attend school due to the sub-par bathroom facilities. Now, they’re excited to attend after a special, important makeover thanks to a $5 million commitment by Islamic Relief USA.

Obstacles to Education

In Tunisia an education can put a child in the driver’s seat of their own life. Finding a student in the region who doesn’t understand and believe this to be true will be nearly impossible. But while students in Tunisia are eager to attend school for the upcoming year, they often face a challenging dilemma–one that makes the reality of attending school difficult, and sometimes, nearly impossible: adequate bathrooms.

In one town in Tunisia, IRUSA learned that there were no adequate bathrooms for children to use while they worked day-after-day to pursue their education. So, supporters of IRUSA stepped in to help install state-of-the-art bathroom facilities and thus helped place the future of these remarkable students in their own little hands.

What Vision can do

Being able to use sanitary and safe bathrooms is a privilege that too many Tunisian students don’t get to enjoy. For thousands of students, they either made the complicated decisions to travel miles to use the bathroom, use the outdated facilities near the school, or, in the case of many young girls, they opted out of school altogether. Families who hope to send their children to school often face major setback in the process.

After impact assessments and outreach, IRUSA began the Child Friendly School Project which built new bathrooms and restored latrines and also water blocks. And now, some 70,000 children at 300 schools are able to attend school, eager and excited to learn.

Outcomes to be Thankful for

The principals of the participating schools have noticed an improvement in student attendance since the new bathrooms were completed. One principal stated that children previously had to bring water in bottles to use in the bathroom and that many children stopped coming to school as a result of not being able to use a clean bathroom. He’s noticed that more children are attending since the sanitation facilities were refurbished.

With continued support, IRUSA can keep youth in the classroom and in good health. Every new bathroom means a new opportunity.