It's back to school in disaster zone

CHILDREN in Sri Lanka are going back to school - thanks to Examiner readers.

Money raised through the Examiner/Unicef appeal is to be used to fund emergency schooling kits.

Unicef is working with the Sri Lankan government to have every child into school by January 20. That ambitious target is just 10 days after what would have been the usual start of term.

To aid this recovery, Unicef is shipping 3,500 ``school in a box" kits to Sri Lanka, enough to provide temporary schooling for almost every affected child.

In Galle, one of the badly-hit areas, Unicef worker Sarah Epstein saw the Sudharma Maha School starting to get back on to its feet.

She said: "The school, just metres from the sea, was destroyed by the waves.

"One in three of its pupils was lost to the sea. Among the huge rehabilitation efforts to rebuild the school, a Unicef truck delivered the emergency school pack to a grateful head teacher. The school is one step nearer to opening."

Every £97 given to the appeal is enough to buy a "school in a box", providing enough books, pens and educational supplies for 80 pupils.

* TICKETS for the big Huddersfield In Harmony concert went on sale today at the Tourist Information Office in Albion Street. Six choirs and two top brass bands are offering their services for free for the tsunami disaster fund concert on February 27. The tickets are priced at £10 each.