This story was originally published on UNICEF's website.

Across the Horn of Africa, the ongoing drought has had devastating consequences for millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

In Central and South-West Somalia, already battered by recurrent droughts and the conflict which has lasted for over three decades, more than a million people have been displaced between January – August 2022 alone.

While UN agencies and humanitarian partners are scrambling to provide health, nutrition and livelihood support, UNICEF and education partners are also scaling up responses to meet the learning needs of all children.

At the Mustaqbal Integrated Primary School in Baidoa, which is located next to a cluster of informal settlements housing internally displaced persons (IDPs), UNICEF is supporting package of education interventions to meet the urgent needs of the increasing number of children.

Thanks to donors like the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) - UNICEF is supporting the school with training for teachers, furniture and learning materials, incentives for teachers; and with funding from GPE, UNICEF in collaboration with WFP, is also implementing a school feeding program whereby students receive two meals a day.

As the school operates in two shifts, the children that attend the morning shift from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm receive breakfast and lunch, while the pupils who attend the afternoon shift from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, only receive lunch.

As the impact of the drought worsens, many families have moved to Baidoa to seek humanitarian aid.

At the Mustaqbal Integrated Primary School, there are so many first time learners. The school has had to resort to conducting classes in its storeroom in order to accommodate the increasing number of children who arrive every day.

The tiny school which was founded just over seven years ago now houses more than 1,500 children and continues to accept at least 3-5 new children every day. Here, a group of the most recent arrivals at the school, wait patiently outside for their turn to learn in the classroom.

With the influx of so many children, the school has had to adopt innovative methods to teach the students. The school has seven different sections for Grade 1 learners due to their levels of learning. In the picture above, Fatuma Noor Abdulahi, (12 years) and Habiba Mohamed Hassan, (13 years). Fatuma says she loves science.

Being in school enables children to establish friendships and play and to forget about the hardships that they and their families have been through as a result of the drought and conflict.

Abduwali Derow Aden, 13 (right in black shirt) and his family walked for two days to get to Baidoa from their village in Rama Aday. Abduwali says he has made many new friends at school, including two best friends whom he spends more time with.

With funding from the GPE, UNICEF is coordinating with WFP to implement a school feeding program for the students at this school.

The school provides breakfast and lunch for students who attend school during the morning shift, and lunch only for those attending the afternoon shift.

Ali Idow Abukar, the Deputy Head Teacher and also the manager of the school meal program, oversees the distribution of cups of porridge for breakfast. “I come to the school at 7:30 am every day and I oversee the supplies and cooking and distribution of food for the children,” he says.

When the bell goes off at 10:00 am, the children stream out of class and head to the kitchen for the morning meal. This day, they all received a cup of delicious porridge for breakfast.

The school meal program has boosted retention rates at the school, and the children who live in the IDP camps are glad to receive two meals a day.

Habiba Ibrahim Aden is an inspiration and a role model for the students, particularly the girls at school. She is an active participant in the student’s lives and says that she will not turn any student away. In this image, she also joins her students for breakfast.

As UNICEF and partners scale-up interventions to support educational needs of the children, we are thankful to all our donors such as GPE. However, as the numbers of children increase we require additional funding to support a package of education services for the children of Somalia – where more than 3 million children are estimated to be out of school.