The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of the Japanese Embassy, Mr. Akira Chiba, and its Second Secretary, Mr. Tomohiko Sakamoto; Australian Ambassador, Mr. Paul Foley, and Second Secretary of the Australian Embassy, Mr. James Russell; First and Second Secretary from the Norwegian Embassy, Mr. Thomas Bruusgaard Høgseth and Mr. Trygve Vold respectively; Governor of Semnan, Mr. Mohandes Vakili, Director General of BAFIA Semnan, Mr. Alavi, Mohajerin Camp Manager, Mr. Samavi; and NRC Iran Country Director, Mr. Roberto Vila-Sexto.
Many of the school aged children in the camp were missing out on getting an education due to work commitments, cultural attitudes and safety concerns in transportation to the closest school. The construction of the school will expedite the process of reintegrating them into the formal, conventional education system and, in the long run, pave the way to better community participation and livelihood opportunities in the future.
“This school was built with funding from the Japanese, Norwegian and Australian governments,” explains Solmaz Sabagh Novin, NRC Urban Security Architect, “there are six classrooms for some three hundred students, as well as, community, teachers’, and conference rooms all equipped with modern heating and cooling systems. The school is run by teachers appointed by BAFIA and the Ministry of Education.”
NRC Iran would like to give a special thanks to the Japanese, Norwegian, Australian and Iranian governments for their support and contributions in making this project to come to life for the bright future of the children of Mohajerin Refugee Camp.
