Our Education Campaign ‘Building Classrooms’

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda are a set of agreed goals adopted by heads of states and governments at the United Nations Sustainable Development summit in 2015. There are 17 goals and 165 targets that represent a partnership between the developed and developing world to tackle global challenges in categories people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships.

Under category ‘people’ is goal 4: ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. We know education enables upward socioeconomic mobility and is a key to escaping poverty for many people.

Vanessa Trower, the Director of Nexperk, her family migrated from Palestine in the mid-’60s during, making Vanessa the first fluent English-speaking woman in her family. Vanessa learnt at a young age that having the support to enable learning was a key factor in the success in someone’s life, thus making this her life purpose and career.

Vanessa leads with heart, from running workshops for ‘over 50’s’ at a community centre to learn computer skills to support career opportunities and their quality of life, to being a youth mentor with the NSW government Frontiers program and volunteering with the Story Factory Writing Centre supporting Indigenous young people aged 7 to 17 in creative writing to develop the literacy skills that will allow them to flourish and shape a positive future. As the Director of Nexperk, has the opportunity to make a difference to refugee children in Palestine in the effort to ‘Leave no one behind.

Our annual goal is to support one entire classroom of Palestinian refugee children, to aid the humanitarian conditions in the region. We are pleased to say in 2022, we have achieved this.

These classrooms are places of safety and learning; places where a child can grow, explore and dream. We understand not everyone will donate and that's okay - we welcome everyone.

UNRWA operates 711 elementary and preparatory schools in its five fields of operation, including eight secondary schools in Lebanon, providing free basic education for some 526,000 Palestine refugee children.

If you would like to support, what can you spare to support the education? (AU Dollars)

$14 can provide counselling and psychosocial support for one child for a month

$39 can provide counselling and psychosocial support for 3 children for a month

$71 can support education for a child for a month

$213 can support education for three children for a month

$500 can provide counselling and psychosocial support for 40 children for a month

$3650 can set up a Palestinian classroom for an entire academic year. 

We do appreciate any support for this education campaign to help build safe classrooms for children to grow, explore and dream.