The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that a network of “Baity” centers have been established in Libya. It added that this was implemented through the continuous assistance of the European Union, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
UNICEF explained that Baity, which means “my home” in Arabic, is UNICEF’s comprehensive approach to provide children and youth in Libya with access to learning opportunities, child protection, as well as life skills and citizenship education.
It added that this network of Baity centers “have been established in Tripoli, Zuwara, Misrata, Benghazi, Sebha, and Ajdabiya to provide support services to children, including migrants and refugees.”
“A safe space to learn and make new friends. 2,673 girls and boys in Ajdabiya engaged in Life Skills and Citizenship Education. They participated in child protection awareness workshops, and had access to safe channels for reporting exploitation and abuse throughout the last six months,” according to UNICEF.
“During our time at the Baity Centre in Ajdabiya, I had the pleasure of meeting wonderful people working tirelessly to provide children with education, protection, and skills, and of course I met happy children,” said Servadei Michele, the UNICEF Libya representative.
Last week, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Libya welcomed a contribution of JPY 200 million Yen (about US$1.53 million dollars) from Japan for food distribution in the west and the east of Libya.
The WFP said the project aims to provide food assistance to more than 10,000 beneficiaries, including vulnerable and food-insecure people, as well as schoolchildren.
The Japanese government has recently confirmed a new contribution of US$ 500,000. This is to provide general food assistance to some 8,500 vulnerable IDPs, host communities, and returnees in the south of Libya who are suffering from high food prices, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
“WFP is extremely grateful to the Government of Japan for these generous contributions coming at a crucial time in a world struggling with the impact of COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine,” said Maysaa Al-Ghribawy, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Libya.