UN News Service (New York)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), working in partnership with Liberia’s Government, is constructing 10,000 three-seat benches for


distribution to 100 government schools that will benefit some 30,000 students.

Government officials voiced gratitude for the donation, noting that schools in the country, which recently emerged from a civil war, desperately need furniture. “Our partners, especially in the donor community, need to know that Liberia’s schools were massively looted during the war and most of them remain without basic furniture,” observed Education Minister Joseph Korto. “So these benches are very helpful in addressing the seating problems facing many schools, as we strive to rebuild our educational system.�

Bjorn E. Forssen, the agency’s senior official in Liberia, said the benches will go to government schools which are offering an accelerated learning programme aimed at enabling children and youth make up for educational years lost during the conflict.

These facilities “serve an extremely useful function in the rehabilitation and reintegration of war-affected children, including returning refugees, demobilized children associated with fighting forces, and all those whose education has been repeatedly disrupted over the last 15 years,” he said.