UNHCR gives buses for students in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar
News Desk:
Officials of UNHCR and Cox’s Bazar district administration during the inauguration ceremony of the buses provided by the UN refugee agency for the students of five local educational institutions on Sunday, April 1, 2019 Photo from Cox’s Bazar DC’s Facebook page
The UN refugee agency says it recognises the impact that the Rohingya response has meant for the host communities
UNHCR has donated five buses for the students of as many local educational institutions in Ukhiya and Cox’s Bazar.
The gesture is part of the agency’s appeciation of the local community’s role in responding to the Rohingya influx since August 2017, the UN refugee agency said in a statement.
The handover ceremony on Sunday was attended by Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Md Abul Kalam, Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Kamal Hossain, principals of five colleges, and senior UNHCR staff.
Abul said the local community deserved appreciation for its role after the influx.
DC Kamal thanked UNHCR for their continuous support to the Rohingyas as well as the host community.
“We are very happy to be able to provide this support for college students,” said UNHCR’s Senior Field/Technical Coordinator Oscar Sanchez Pineiro.
He added that UNHCR and its partners recognised the impact that the Rohingya response has meant for the host communities.
“This is why we are undertaking a number of initiatives to support the local communities and host government meet some of the arising challenges,” he said.
The initiatives aim to improve the lives of local Bangladeshis in refugee-hosting areas by supporting basic services, education, health, livelihoods and infrastructure initiatives.
Last year, 40 Quick Impact Projects were launched, mostly in Ukhiya and Teknaf, benefitting more than 134,000 locals.
Some of the projects included site and building improvement works in 70 education institutions, both schools and colleges.
Video:
https://youtu.be/0NyEjpTK9zM