奇速英语

救助战争失学儿童

A United Nations representative wants international support for programs aimed at helping 28 million boys and girls return to school. The children are unable to continue their education because of wars and crises around the world.

Gordon Brown at UN announcement of Safe Schools Initiative

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education. Mr. Brown says schools were once safe places for children. Now, they are increasingly becoming instruments(工具) of war. In the past five years, there were more than 10,000 attacks on schools.

Mr. Brown told the United Nations recently that the international community should spend money to make schools safer. He proposed creation of an international humanitarian（慈善的） fund for education in emergencies. "It is our moral duty to make sure that every single child in the world can enjoy the basic right to education - free of terror, free of fear, and with the support of the international community."

Mr. Brown is thinking about new uses of technology to improve school safety. A pilot program has been launched in Pakistan. Three months ago, the Pakistani Taliban killed 140 children at a school in the city of Peshawar.

A funeral prayer for a student killed in the Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014

Pakistani officials are now working with Predictify.Me, a technology company based in the United States. Under the "Pakistan Safe Schools" program, schools will use new computer software to test their safety plans. The results of the testing will help school officials prepare better for emergencies. The technology will make it possible to learn what schools and governments are doing to prevent attacks on schools.

Mr. Brown said it is time for the international community to wake up and deal with theproblems facing children. He said the world should protect their rights and stop turning its back on these young victims of war.