In 2023, 72 million children worldwide were unable to attend school as a result of conflict and crisis. 1,650 verified attacks on schools and hospitals last year have a devastating impact on the growing up of children and young people. 47 million children are displaced due to conflict and war, and approximately one billion children worldwide are multidimensionally poor – that is, they lack access to food and clean water and cannot adequately meet their basic needs. Andreas Knapp, Secretary General of International Programs at Caritas Austria: “In 2023, 30 percent more children than in the previous year had no access to humanitarian aid, that is a scandal! The most serious human rights violations against children have been found in Israel and Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria and Sudan – these are alarming developments that make it clear to us that children and young people are the worst affected by war and conflict. They are footing the bill for increasingly complex and protracted crises. Entire generations are not growing up in conflicts and in refugee camps in a way that is child-friendly – this must stop, and that is what we as Caritas are working on in our projects.”
Education: Hope for Adolescents
Access to education is particularly difficult during war and when fleeing; many young people have little or no access to lessons and learning opportunities. There are particularly big barriers to accessing high-quality education for refugee children: refugee children are five times more likely than other children not to go to school. Only half of all refugee children are enrolled in primary school. Without education, children have little chance of escaping poverty one day. Andreas Knapp: “Schools and safe spaces also give children a feeling of normality and routine, they protect them from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence and create a safe, supportive environment. Education is a – if not the – central key to a promising future.”
South Sudan: This is how Caritas helps
Due to the violent conflict in South Sudan that has been ongoing since 2013, this country has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world: schools had to be closed or were destroyed. Around three quarters of children of primary school age, especially girls, do not go to school and there is a lack of well-trained teaching staff. 2.2 million people were internally displaced. This also applies to twelve-year-old Andrew, who had to flee with his mother and sisters due to fighting in his village and has been living in the Gumbo refugee camp for seven years. There he attends the sixth grade of elementary school at the primary school run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, which is supported by Caritas to provide children and young people with quality education. Andrew says: “I want to become a good person and the school will help me gain more knowledge and get a job in the future. Hopefully at some point I can leave the camp with my family and stand on my own two feet.”
Solidarity in action: Austrian young people get involved
Unequal living realities require global solidarity and global learning, because multiple crises and their effects as well as poverty and inequality will also accompany future generations. This makes it all the more important to give children and young people in Europe an awareness of global connections. For example, youngCaritas (www.youngcaritas.at) has been offering free workshops on topics such as hunger, sustainability, climate justice, escape, peace and much more for many years. At the same time, children and young people at youngCaritas also have the opportunity to get involved directly for a good cause, for example by taking part in the youngCaritas LaufWunder, where they support inclusive gymnastics lessons in the Congo, the renovation of a school building in South Sudan or for a safe route to school Lebanon can use. Also as part of the International Volunteering Program (www.internationalerfreiwilligeneinsatz.at/), young adults have the opportunity to get to know Caritas’ international projects and to work on site. The focus here is on intercultural understanding, mutual respect and lived global connection and solidarity.
Development policy action: strengthening children’s rights
“Children are the worst affected by war and conflict, they are the most vulnerable as they lose the protection of adults and are therefore at risk of becoming victims of exploitation, abuse or violence. War and conflict violate children’s rights, which have been ratified by all states worldwide: the right to life, the right to family and community, the right to health, the right to education and the right to security and protection. All children worldwide should be able to live a life without fear,” says Andreas Knapp. In order for this to succeed, it is urgently necessary to adopt the three-year program of Austrian development policy for 2025-2027 during this legislative period and to avoid possible delays due to new elections. The three-year program is an important planning document for humanitarian aid and development work and a powerful lever for sustainable change. “It is essential that children’s rights are strengthened worldwide and that equal opportunities for particularly vulnerable children and young people are achieved through a children’s rights strategy for Austria’s foreign and development policy actions.”