In wartime Yemen, volunteer teachers are bridging a learning gap

Seventeen-year-old Fatima Mujib sits on a worn wooden chair in a narrow, makeshift classroom. Bundled up to keep warm in the rundown stone building, she quietly listens as teacher Munia Saeed presents the day’s lesson.

Fatima is interested and engaged, even in the drab setting and even though sufficient heating, textbooks, and school supplies are hard to come by. As a ruinous civil war roils Yemen, this classroom in the southwestern city of Taiz is Fatima’s refuge. And Ms. Saeed and the other volunteer teachers are more than educators.

“They are like older sisters and mothers to us,” Fatima says. “My teacher treats me with kindness and respect, following up with me on my lessons every day.”

Children’s education has been a casualty of the war, which erupted in 2014 and quickly led to the toppling of Yemen’s internationally recognized government by an Iran-backed group known as Houthis. Airstrikes by a coalition of Arab states, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been unable to restore the exiled government. And a 2022 truce brokered by the United Nations has brought a reduction in hostilities but hasn’t ended the conflict.

(On March 15, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, citing attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed an “unrelenting” campaign until the group ceases such actions.)

Like many public-sector employees in Yemen, thousands of teachers haven’t received regular salaries for several years and aren’t showing up for work. Many school buildings have been damaged or closed.

Educators in Taiz officially went on strike late last year, halting all formal schooling there. Ms. Saeed is among the hundreds of university graduates, who are volunteering their time to bridge the gap by teaching children. Beyond lessons, volunteers offer support and compassion to ensure that the next generation doesn’t lose hope during one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Mohamed Al-Hammadi

Volunteer teacher Omar Ali Ayad (left) leads a meeting in Al-Torba township, Yemen, with a group of female volunteers.

“We knew we couldn’t stop”

Since the conflict began, about 4.5 million Yemenis have been displaced, including around 300,000 from Taiz, the third-largest city. An estimated 40% of children between 5 and 17 years old – about 4.5 million kids – have dropped out, according to UNICEF. Many have been forced to work alongside their parents or to beg on the streets.

In 2015, Ms. Saeed, a social worker displaced from the port city of Aden, and other university graduates saw the need for an intervention. So they launched a grassroots teaching initiative starting at a school in Taiz’s Al-Shamayatayn District. The idea spread quickly to nearby villages.

“Soon we were teaching thousands of children,” Ms. Saeed says. “The demand was overwhelming, and we knew we couldn’t stop.”

Each week, Ms. Saeed and other volunteers travel to rural areas within the Taiz governorate, often under difficult conditions, to meet with students. Many children have not had formal schooling for years. “We aim to fill the gap in education left by the lack of official teachers, while also providing opportunities for young graduates to contribute to rebuilding the country,” Ms. Saeed says.

“They love teaching us”

According to the United Nations Development Programme, about 83% of Yemen’s population of approximately 34 million people lives in multidimensional poverty, racked by multiple deprivations, including a lack of education and sanitation services. These factors are exacerbated by rising hunger, malnutrition, and unemployment. Amid the overwhelming challenges, the volunteers are bringing passion back into education.

“They love teaching us,” says Hamid Ali, an 11th grader at Al Muqarmah Al Jadida School. “We don’t get bored.”

UNICEF’s Restoring Education and Learning project, financed by the World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education, has contributed some funding.

Mohamed Al-Hammadi

Third grader Taif Muhammed learns at her desk in Al-Torba township, Yemen.

“The initiative has encouraged families to send their children to school despite the hardships,” says Reman Hamid Ali Othman, a researcher contracted with UNICEF. “There has also been a surge in girls’ interest in education.”

In the Taiz governorate, the impact has been especially profound. Al-Shamayatayn District, for example, has 758 volunteers educating 64,000 students in rural areas. “Their efforts have been crucial in keeping education alive,” says Adnan Al-Sharjabi, the director of the district’s education office.

The model has also worked in other areas of Yemen, including the northern Marib governorate. “Education in Marib is in the best condition it has been in years, thanks to the support of local authorities, the education office, and our volunteers,” says Mohammed Al-Baqes, a volunteer teacher.

Preparing future leaders

Despite the success that volunteer teachers have had, a lack of supplies makes their mission difficult. “We don’t have the tools to teach [students] properly,” says Hadeel Abdul Rahim, a volunteer at Khawla Bint Al Azwar School in rural Taiz.

Funding is perhaps the most pressing issue. With only a small stipend given from UNICEF, volunteers often struggle to make ends meet, especially as prices rise in the country and poverty deepens.

Samia Khaishan, a volunteer teacher in the southern Shabwa governorate, says that traveling to the schools takes a long time. She and three of her fellow volunteers split a combined stipend of 80,000 rials (about $325) per month. Her share is a far cry from the monthly prewar teacher salary of 49,000 rials, but Ms. Khaishan remains dedicated.

“We know we are contributing to building the nation and educating the children who will lead it,” she says.

Volunteers like Ms. Saeed are committed to helping for as long as necessary. She hopes to earn a teaching degree and keep working as an educator after the war ends.

“Until then,” she says, “we will be here for our students.”

This article was published in collaboration with Egab.