Children in school uniforms play on a wooden playground structure, while volunteers in purple All Hands and Hearts shirts stand nearby, supervising and sharing in the joyful moment.

BAck to school

Education is often overlooked in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, leaving children out of school for months, years, or sometimes indefinitely. At AH&H, we work together with communities to bring children back to safe schools where they can learn, play and heal. With their children supported at school, parents have the freedom to rebuild their homes, go back to work, and move forward with their community.

SUPPORT EDUCATION

Our Impact at a Glance

370+
Schools supported worldwide
124K+
Children returned to safe classrooms
16
Countries worked in
A dilapidated school building
Before
A vibrant. newly built school building with a mural of a rainbow and birds on the outer wall
After
Celso Muñoz Primary School – Oaxaca, Mexico
A partially collapsed school building with broken walls and missing roof sections, left in ruins.
Before
A newly rebuilt school with sturdy brick walls, a metal roof, and a play area with colorful tire seats in front.
After
Barrio Nuevo Toltepec Primary School – Oaxaca, Mexico
A damaged school building with a rusted metal roof, broken wooden frame, and piles of overturned desks and debris on a muddy floor.
Before
A newly constructed classroom, brightly painted in yellow and blue with colorful bunting hanging from one building to another
After
St. Francis Elementary School – Northern Tacloban, Philippines
An old, worn-down school building with a rusted metal roof and faded walls, standing beside an open grassy field.
Before
A newly rebuilt school with bright yellow walls, red roof, and blue trim, decorated with colorful flags and surrounded by an open courtyard.
After
Shree Janaprabhat Ni Ma Vi School – Sindhuli, Nepal
A group of children in blue school uniforms sit at desks studying outdoors under a makeshift shelter with wooden beams and a tin roof, while a teacher stands beside them.

Education Can’t Wait After Disaster

Schools are an essential component of disaster recovery. Restoring access to education is necessary because it:

  • Helps children heal from trauma by restoring daily routines and providing a sense of normalcy.

  • Keeps children safe from risks like exploitation, trafficking, and child labor.

  • Promotes equality and inclusion, ensuring all children can continue learning.

  • Creates hubs for health, nutrition and holistic preparedness programs.

  • Provides emergency shelter in times of future crises.

  • Supports parents by giving them the time and space to rebuild their homes, livelihoods and communities.

  • Gives every child the chance to learn, grow and dream again.

Rebuilding Education, Together

Beyond rebuilding schools, we also strengthen the entire community’s resilience to future crises. Every disaster relief program is context-specific and immersed in the unique needs of each local region.

School reconstruction

Our teams build schools that provide children with safe, stable places to learn and grow.

Build sustainable classrooms

We build climate-smart learning spaces that reflect local identity and use passive cooling to be energy efficient.

Installation of WASH

We provide essential water, sanitation and hygiene systems and training to protect student health.

Creation of child-friendly outdoor spaces

We create playgrounds and safe areas where children can play, heal, and connect.

Ensuring access to clean water at school sites

We install reliable water systems so students and teachers have consistent access to clean drinking water.

Community-led implementation and ownership

Local leaders, parents and teachers help guide and shape each project, ensuring long-term impact.

Monitoring and evaluation

We measure outcomes and listen to feedback, always improving to meet evolving community needs.

Faces of Impact

A smiling girl stands in a brightly decorated classroom holding up her notebook, while other children sit at desks behind her.
Play video

Regine

Regine, Kindergarten teacher in Northern Tacloban, Philippines, smiles at the camera in her classroom

Regine could finally teach her schoolchildren in the safe school she dreamed of.

As a kindergarten teacher in a relocation community for families displaced by Super Typhoon Yolanda, Regine spent her first paycheck fixing up a classroom that had only a roof and no walls. Years later, her school received a permanent, disaster-resilient building, WASH facilities and a playground, helping to ensure her students will always learn in safety.

Northern Tacloban, Philippines

The Gijón Ramirez Family

The Gijón Ramírez family, father and son duo in Hover location Barrio Nuevo Toltepec, Mexico

A family’s past and future came together with every new brick laid.

The Gijón Ramírez family has deep roots at the local school, where the father once studied and now his three children learn. As part of the school’s reconstruction, he joined AH&H as a mason, gaining new skills laying bricks and setting foundations, while helping create safe classrooms for the next generation.

Barrio Nuevo Toltepec, Mexico

Smriti

Smritri, a student in Makwanpur, Nepal. smiles at the camera in her school uniform

In Nepal, Smriti’s primary school will never have to suffer in the heat to learn again.

Smriti remembers how difficult it was to study in the sweltering heat of temporary classrooms after the earthquake. Today, her school has a new building and playground, spaces where the next generations of students can learn in comfort and safety.

Makwanpur, Nepal

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