"The seats in the classrooms are so close together, it causes tensions amongst the students," says Abdallah Ladadweh the headmaster of the Beituniya boys school. "It's simply not conducive to learning.

In some classrooms, he explains, if a student is called to the blackboard or has to go the washroom, he must walk on top of his classmates' desks because there is no room between the seats.

"There is no room for educational material, we have no library or laboratories and the school yard is too small to allow all the students out at the same time," he adds. "There are only four toilets for 715 students. In my 23 years as a teacher and headmaster, it’s the worst school building I have ever seen."

The boys' school has 20 classes from grades one through eight. Since 2002, it has been housed in its present building that was originally constructed in the early 1980s as a dormitory. "The rooms are too small to be proper classrooms and their shape is not functional," explains the headmaster. "Many have large windows and balconies which leave them cold in winter and hot in summer. The lighting is such that many students cannot read the blackboard."

"The economic situation in the municipality has seriously deteriorated," says the headmaster. "Many people are no longer able to pay their taxes or even the electricity bill."

"The construction of the West Bank Barrier has caused serious difficulties for the people of Beituniya," explains ICRC delegate Fitore Pula. "In addition to losing close to 12,000 dunams of land (3,000 acres), local businesses previously benefited from the municipality's position on the main road connecting Ramallah and Jerusalem. That road is no longer in use because of the barrier and most residents of the municipality are no longer allowed to work in Jerusalem."

The ICRC has agreed to cover the costs of finishing the construction of the school, including the interior walls, plastering and infrastructure such as water and electricity. The building will include 12 classrooms, a library, a science lab and a computer lab. 650 of the students from grades one through six will move into the new building.

But the ICRC is providing much more than the school to the local community. The project is funded under a "cash for work" programme, which provides salaries for almost 8,000 man-days to local skilled and unskilled workers. In addition, the material necessary for the construction will be purchased locally. The labour and material costs represent a total investment in the local economy of over 250,000 US dollars.