ANKARA

The Swedish Akelius Foundation plans to build 400 schools in Gaza as more than 650,000 children have remained without access to education for two years after the destruction of 97% of school facilities in the territory.

The initiative aims to restore learning opportunities following widespread damage to education infrastructure across Gaza.

Swedish businessman Roger Akelius made a donation for Gaza on March 20 in cooperation with the Swedish government through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The Akelius Foundation, established in 2007, has previously provided 60 million dollars in aid to Palestine. Its latest contribution for Gaza amounts to 75 million dollars.

Specializing in modern pedagogy, the foundation runs free online courses in languages and mathematics with a team of about 150 staff.

With an annual budget of around 300 million dollars, the foundation seeks to direct its resources toward education projects and has supported education initiatives in 40 countries.

It works primarily through humanitarian organizations including UNICEF, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), SOS Children’s Villages — an international organization providing family-based care for orphaned and abandoned children — and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

In an interview with Anadolu, Akelius said the foundation plans to provide access to schooling, play areas and food for children in Gaza.

He noted that the latest donation will fund construction of 400 schools, each designed for 250 children.

"This is a challenging project. Our goal is to build tent schools and permanent buildings, employ teachers, and provide 100,000 meals per day for five years. As usual, Israel will restrict or prohibit access. They will shoot at school staff and children," Akelius said.

He said the Swedish government had informed Israeli authorities about the aid effort. Sweden contributed approximately 35 million dollars through UNICEF, bringing the total aid package to more than 100 million dollars.

The Akelius Foundation has partnered with UNICEF for 10 years.

Its existing school in Gaza was put out of service after Israel destroyed or damaged 96% of educational institutions in the territory.

According to Akelius, children in Gaza need not only to learn reading and writing but also to experience what normal life feels like again.

According to UNICEF data, more than 97% of schools in Gaza have been damaged and about 658,000 children have remained out of class for two years.