STAFF from East Lancashire organisation Tauheedul Charity have paid a visit to the Turkish-Syrian border to review the charity's 'Syrian Children Back to School' programme.

Over the past three years,nearly 50 per cent of Syria’s 22,000 schools have been damaged, destroyed or are used as shelters for displaced people and many teachers no longer report for work.

Almost three million Syrian children are now estimated to no longer be attending school - many youngsters have fled conflict in their towns and villages and have not been to school for more than three years.

To help address the problem, the charity has established ten schools in the country, providing education and psycho-social support to more than 2,500 children.

This helps the children to deal with psychological trauma caused by their exposure to unprecedented levels of violence, the horrors of war and the loss of loved ones.

The schools also play an important role in securing the future of the children while creating employment opportunities for local teachers.

During the visit, staff from Tauheedul met with headteachers from the ten schools, who crossed the border to meet them.

They also visited the town of Reyhanli, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey near the country’s border with Syria, which is home to 70,000 Syrian refugees.

The staff paid a visit to a rehabilitation centre, a psychological unit for women and children, and a school in the town.

Director Yusef Patel said: "We were pleased to learn that our schools are also playing a wider role in the local communities by providing vocational training and water facilities.

"However, thousands of children in Syria are without schooling and our work is merely a drop in the ocean.

"Due to limited finances, we are unable to cope with the demand and have to turn away children.

"Local communities are unable to afford as little as $50 per month for a teacher’s salary.

"In this context, our schools are also providing employment opportunities for teachers.

"Overall we were pleased with the progress of the schools and identify some improvements.

"The greater challenge is to consider innovative ways to expand our educational programmes vertically and horizontally to maximise impact and reach out to more children in need."