The Siyaj Organization has succeeded in returning nearly 1,000 children to basic education in rural areas of Al Hudaydah Governorate, northwest Yemen. The organization’s president, Ahmed Al-Qurashi, stated that these results are the outcome of a series of activities and campaigns implemented between 2008 and 2011. In Al-Zuhra District of Al Hudaydah Governorate, western Yemen, the Siyaj program managed to enroll approximately 50% of the children in Al-Hakim and Al-Kashif villages, from which no children had previously been enrolled in school. Siyaj’s experience in practical advocacy for the child’s right to education can be summarized as follows: In 2008, Siyaj, in cooperation with the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), launched an awareness campaign targeting nearly 100,000 primary school students and their families in the capital, Sana’a, and the governorates of Al Hudaydah, Taiz, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Aden, and Dhamar. And Amran. In 2009, Siyaj implemented its first project funded by Save the Children, and its most important activities focused on the right to education and violence in schools. In 2009, Siyaj implemented the “Education is the Hope of the Future” campaign in the rural areas of Al Hudaydah Governorate, with support from the American international organization CHF. The campaign addressed the reasons for children not enrolling in and dropping out of basic education, and possible solutions. Its most important components were: Conducting transparent and frank discussion sessions between local officials, education and guidance officials, some parents, and influential social figures such as sheikhs, village elders, and dignitaries. Establishing local networks to advocate for the child’s right to education from among the participants in the discussion sessions. Conducting a field survey on the rate of children’s enrollment in education and parents’ attitudes. In 2010, Seyaj implemented the “My School Bag” project, which built upon the outcomes of the previous project as a way of providing solutions to the problems identified in the study and community discussion sessions. For more information, click here (Final Report of the My School Bag Project) Seyaj seeks to strengthen its role in empowering children in remote, impoverished, and conflict-affected areas to exercise their right to basic education.
