11Onze has entered into a partnership with the Swedish Better Shelter, the humanitarian non-profit. It has a proven history of building houses and schools for war and disaster victims and will assist 11Onze in aiding Syrian children get access to finance. This is especially needed following the earthquake that hit earlier this year and the ongoing civil war.
11Onze and Better Shelter will raise €100,000 to create 50 ‘Shelter Schools’ which will aid 1,750 Syrian children get access to education. Explaining the initiative James Sene, chairman, 11Onze, said: “At 11Onze we understand that for a secure future, we must educate children. To do that, we need to build schools. That’s why we want to build refugee schools in the north of Syria. We want to esnure that children can go back to school and get on with their lives.”
One-third of children in the country are out of school completely following the natural disasters and war. Explaining why Better Shelter was selected to help tackle this issue, Sene added: “We decided to go with Better Shelter for this project as they have a proven record of installing shelters in 80 countries. In turn, improving the living conditions of 400,000 people.”
The role of 11Onze community Sene added, “At 11Onze we believe in transforming realities that we don’t like. We have an active, conscious and responsible community which is happy to roll up its sleeves because we like to change things. This is an opportunity to share our wealth. We want to make a positive impact on the lives of those in need of support and hope.”
Better Schools
Better Shelter uses durable materials to build refugee schools. This is instead of plastic or fabric tents which are set up in refugee camps.
Miguel Acebron Garcia de Eulate, technical support manager, Better Shelter explained: “For us there are two pillars, safety and dignity. That is why it is a rigid shelter, not made of cloth. They are designed to last and guarantee the security and privacy of their users.”
Acebron Garcia de Eulate also explained that the refugee camps must be sturdy and not temporary. Over the decades, Bett Shelter has noticed that this apparently transitory situation tends to last longer. In fact, in central Africa, there are already cases of people who have been born and have spent their entire lives in a camp.
With 11Onze’s Arremanga and Better Shelter project, donors are also offered absolute transparency of the costs. “The 11Onze’s Arremanga page lists the prices of each of the elements needed to make a shelter. This way people have control over the amount they spend towards the school.”
