Beneficial lessons
In Lebanon, ACP supports four schools for a total of 240 children aged 5 to 14 from Syrian refugee families. The children are taught reading and writing, as well as basic subjects such as Arabic, maths and English and weekly art and sports classes. "We start each day by reading the Bible with the children, singing and praying," reports teacher Nevine.
Schools have to deal with a number of challenges. Parents are often dependent on their children to take care of the household, even if they are still very young. Most families are very low-income and the priority for many parents is to secure their income. "Unfortunately, there is little interest in their children's education," says Nevine.
It is therefore not uncommon for children to drop out of school without any qualifications. Girls between the ages of 13 and 15 are particularly affected. In their culture, they are already married off at this age. For this reason, the teachers also look after the girls outside of school. They provide them with pastoral and social support so that they do not lose their faith in Jesus and also find opportunities to work in their community or neighbourhood.
Hanan, for example, was one of our pupils. As she is sickly and not very mobile, she often stays at home. One of our teachers had the idea of opening a small centre in Hanan's tent. Here, the young woman teaches a small number of Syrian children who are not allowed to attend school. Hanan, who follows Jesus, receives support from a member of the teaching staff.
Some of the girls come from an environment that is strict and unloving. Fatima is one of them. "She came to us at the age of seven. Today she is 14," says Nevine. "We were able to witness how her life changed for the better. She was very shy, anxious and introverted. As a team, we worked together to strengthen her personality and empower her to overcome life's challenges. Fatima's spiritual and emotional development was very positive. Today, she smiles often, has much more self-confidence and loves taking part in the Christian activities at our school."
