YANGON, Myanmar, 3 June 2008 -- A new school year has begun as children head back to classes, just one month after Cyclone Nargis damaged or destroyed more than 4,000 schools in Myanmar.

UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and local communities have been working together to distribute building materials to schools that were damaged or destroyed by the cyclone. Essential school supplies, learning materials and recreation kits for primary schools also have been distributed.

Dressed in school uniforms, the children -- some accompanied by their parents -- strolled into the lane leading towards Post Primary School No. 32 in Hlaingtharyar township, one of the worst affected areas in Yangon division. The children, excited by this return to normalcy, began to arrive at six in the morning, an hour before classes were scheduled to start.

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