This blog was originally published on UNICEF's website.

Al Hol camp, northeast Syria - Seventeen-year-old Yaqeen had to drop out of school in grade 6 after she was forced to marry at an early age and flee home for a safer refuge in northeast Syria.

Displaced more than once, Yaqeen ended up with her mother and her four-year-old son in the Al Hol camp with limited access to basic services. She was eager to return to learning, so after hearing from some friends in the camp about a UNICEF-supported learning center, she enrolled there.

Yaqeen benefits from the ‘self-learning’ program, supported by UNICEF, to help out-of-school children and children at risk of dropping out to continue their education. She is in grade 7 and through the digital learning modality - using a laptop, tablet or a mobile phone - she is able to access interactive lessons and learning materials.

While Yaqeen attends digital learning classes, her son, little Saifeddin, benefits from UNICEF-supported early childhood education classes at the same center. Together with other pre-school-aged children, he learns basic skills that will prepare him for starting school.

“I enjoy using a laptop and the ‘International Computer Driving License’ lessons,” said Yaqeen. “I look forward to attending my classes in the digital classroom, and I hope to be able to continue my education to become a nurse in the future,” she added.

Since 2022, UNICEF has reached some 20,000 students in Al-Hasakeh governorate, northeast Syria, with the self-learning program, including through the digital learning modality. The activities were funded by Education Cannot Wait; EU Humanitarian Aid (ECHO); German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the KFW Development Bank; Global Partnership for Education (GPE); and Governments of Australia; Canada and Italy.