LIFE Increases Access to Education for Over 12,000 Students Through Back-to-School Project 2025

Around the globe, the education crisis is deepening. More than 270 million children and youth are still out of school, according to the latest figures from UNESCO, with nearly one out of every ten young children and more than a quarter of adolescents excluded from classrooms. 

In low-income regions, one-third of school-age children remain unreached by formal learning, while more than half of all out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, conflict, displacement, and systemic poverty continue to push children further out of school and risk a “learning lost” generation. 

In response to this global challenge, Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) launched its 2025 Back to School Program and supported 12,512 students across 30 countries. Partners in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Niger, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, the West Bank, Yemen, and the USA enabled these enrolments. Students received backpacks and school materials, so they could enter the classroom prepared, visible, and included. 

This initiative is more than a drop in the ocean of need. For children in war-torn and impoverished regions, access to education brings dignity, protection, and a pathway out of vulnerability. Every child walked into a classroom not just with supplies but with renewed hope and belonging. By supporting these learners, LIFE helped communities rebuild resilience and opened doors to futures once uncertain. 

Thank you to every donor, volunteer, and partner whose support turned hope into action. Your generosity gave children a second chance at schooling and reaffirmed that no child should be left behind.

"I carried my new backpack home, and I felt proud, I knew I belonged the moment I walked into that classroom." - Abdul, age 11, Afghanistan   "For the first time this year, I didn’t worry where my notebook would come from; I could focus on learning." - Rasha, age 13,

Lebanon  "After years without a proper school building, seeing my students in their desks made me believe we could heal our community through education." - Amina, age 34, Syria