Syrian Refugee Crisis

Like a tender green shoot, hope springs up on the edge of Rajab, a Syrian refugee settlement in Lebanon. There, in three tents surrounded by a wire fence, children ages 3 to 6 are getting their first taste of school. It’s a heady experience for children used to drab surroundings and few, if any, toys.

“These children haven’t been to school before — here or in Syria,” says supervisor Thanaa Hamdanieh, a Lebanese woman who taught for 18 years in Bekaa Valley schools.

New children are coming every day, she says, but the Early Childhood Education center so far averages 54 students in the morning and 54 more in the afternoon — two sessions daily — Monday through Friday.

Just last week, when most of them started, they “knew nothing,” Thanaa says. No numbers, no songs, no written words in Arabic or English. Now they are launched into a new world of words and figures, shapes and colors, and days of the week.

There’s a buzz of excitement and a bit of hubbub and disorder as children pop up out of their chairs or burst out talking and laughing. But the teachers are like magnets drawing the children’s eyes and minds in their direction, showing them pictures, playing music, and encouraging them to sing: “A is for Apple, B is for ball …”

“We have stories and play with toys. There’s about 30 minutes of play, several breaks, as well as a meal,” says teacher Wafaa Anjarani, a Syrian refugee herself.

But the meat of the Early Childhood Education program is academics — English, math, Arabic, and science — taught with lots of songs and activities.

The curriculum is equivalent to kindergarten and first and second grades, says Thanaa.

Rehearsal for ‘real school’

Standing in the doorway of the tent for 5- and 6-year-olds, Thanaa comments on their conduct and appearance: “The first days were chaotic. Now they are learning to come on time, to take their places, to be more clean.”

She says it’s new to the children to be in a group, so it’s important for them to respect the rules and work together.

“This is necessary so that when they go to real school, they will be ready, and they will be well behaved,” she says.

The children are also learning to listen, raise their hands to ask a question, and line up.

Cleanliness is vital, too, Thanaa says: “We try to help by encouraging them to have their fingernails cut, hair brushed, and to shower.”

But cleanliness is not easily achieved in Rajab settlement. When it rains, as it frequently does, everyone in the settlement fights a battle with mud. No matter how carefully children step, there’s no avoiding slipping and splashing.

In their everyday lives, the children have a lot more than mud to overcome. Many have lost family members and friends, they’ve seen frightful things and been scarred by the effects of war on their families.

For older children, other challenges

“The center is really good, but the problem is the older children can’t come here, and often they can’t go to regular school either,” says Fady Farah, program coordinator. He explains that the Lebanese Ministry of Education doesn’t allow children of school age, including refugees, to attend informal education.

For older refugee children who may have been out of school for years and know only Arabic, it’s tough to make the transition to a Lebanese school where some subjects are taught in French or English. The cost of transportation to school may also be prohibitive, and many children have to work to support their families.

Some older children are able to navigate the difficulties to attend school with Lebanese peers or study in the same schools in afternoon sessions that are only for refugees.

“My cousin who teaches in the the Lebanese public school system says some of the older children from Syria can do fine in school here,” Thanaa says. ”We want to make sure that these younger ones will be ready to start school when they are old enough.”

Hope for a bright future

“Kitar!” says teacher Hala Mazloum, another Syrian refugee. The word sounds something like that in Arabic, but with a deep, throat-clearing sound on the “K.” It means train, and the 4- and 5-year-old children catch on right away. Placing hands on the shoulder or waist of the child in front of them, they chug off to play games in a field they share with a herd of sheep.

Adults are drawn to the fence surrounding the three tents to see what’s going on. The children’s songs, games, and laughter make everything in this dull, muddy settlement brighter.

In a few days, parents whose children attend the center will get a call from the teachers inviting them to a meeting.

“We will ask the parents to keep them clean, to see that the older ones do homework, and we will tell them what their children have learned,” says Thanaa.

“We will tell them, ‘Yes, your child can be ready to attend school.’”

Photo captions:

1) Teacher Wafaa, leads a group of Syrian refugee children in an outdoor activity at an early childhood education center in Rajab, a settlement in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Before fleeing to Lebanon, Wafaa taught for 15 years in the public schools in Syria.

2) Samira, 5 (in red shirt) plays a counting game at the early childhood education center in Rajab.

3) World Vision’s Early Childhood Education program is for children ages 3 to 6. The center opened in February 2016. Students learn English, math, Arabic, and science taught with a lot of songs and activities. In a half-day session, there’s also time for play and a meal.

4) Refugee children at an Early Childhood Education center wear crowns with their names written on them in Arabic.

Written by Kinan Diab    Friday, 25 March 2016 06:49

 In June 2015, Ahmad, and his twin sister Rasha, aged 6, fled Syria with their parents for the Turkish border town of Akcakale. They left behind a lovely duplex house, all of their belongings and the life they had always known. Ahmad describes how much he misses his red bike, the one he had just learned to ride without training wheels. Rasha, on the other hand, misses watching Sponge Bob Square Pants on TV in the morning while eating breakfast. Ahmad interrupts “I prefer Tom & Jerry.”

Since arriving in Turkey, the family has been living in basic accommodation and struggling to make ends meet. Many other families are facing similar difficulties. In June 2015 alone, many thousands of Syrians fled to safety across the border into southern Turkey.

In July 2015, World Vision began partnering with Turkish NGO, International Middle East Peace Research (IMPR), in order to respond to some of the needs faced by recent refugee arrivals.

Kits for babies and young children containing diapers, baby powder, baby shampoo and wet wipes, among other items, were provided by World Vision to IMPR, whose team of volunteers and staff distributed them to vulnerable families, such as Ahmad and Rasha’s.

Although Ahmad and Rasha are not babies, the items were very helpful for their family. Sadly, the children have been wetting the bed, a symptom of high-levels of stress and anxiety in their lives. Their mother was particularly grateful to receive diapers which can protect her young family and provide them with some dignity during this difficult time.

The Syrian conflict is now entering its sixth year. During that time at least 250,000 people have been killed, with some independent Syrian organisations citing upwards of 450,000, among them up to 19,000 children. Approximately 11 million people have been forced from their homes.

World Vision began responding to the needs of displaced children and families in and around Syria in 2011 through its existing presence in vulnerable communities across Lebanon. Since then, World Vision’s Syria Crisis Response has expanded to include five countries: Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey.

Millions of children are facing challenges children should not have to face - missing out on school, working as child labourers and girls vulnerable to early marriage. A generation of children is at risk of being lost to the impact of this conflict.

Since 2011, World Vision has helped over 2.37 million refugees, displaced people and vulnerable host community members. Last year 1.1 million people - among them 630,000 children – were supported.  Food assistance, emergency supplies, water and sanitation, health, education and child protection interventions reached children and families in need.

 SUMMARY OF KEY INTERVENTIONS IN EACH SYRIA CRISIS RESPONSE COUNTRY IN 2015

 World Vision’s Syria Crisis Response has offices in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, with cross-border operations from Turkey into Syria. A regional response team, based in Jordan, provides technical advice, oversight and resource management.

  Lebanon: Cash programming through e-cards; municipal repairs and direct household support on water and sanitation; supporting children through educational and psychosocial programmes

  Syria: Sustainable water and sanitation solutions, psychosocial support for children; household and winter items; hygiene kits and baby kits; filling gaps in fractured health-care services

Turkey: First distribution to refugees in July 2015 (baby kits)

  Jordan: School, extracurricular and psychosocial activities for children of all backgrounds; drainage, water supply system and sanitation facilities in refugee camps; water, sanitation and hygiene facilities rehabilitated in schools in host communities

  Iraq: Food assistance; drilling boreholes and upgrading water treatment plants; fixed and mobile clinics in areas with no health care; informal and alternative learning opportunities for children; women’s centre to protect women and girls from violence

  Regional response team: Concerted advocacy for children in emergencies; centralised Response-wide system for monitoring, evaluation, evidence and learning