School in Lebanon Back on Track Amidst Crisis

1/2/2022

Despite the ongoing political and economic crisis in Lebanon, the school we support in Zahle continues to provide a safe haven for Syrian refugee students. The children are not only learning, they are thriving. Mahmoud, in Grade 9 loves attending school and is excelling in class, especially now he can actually read the board thanks to a new pair of glasses.

Our partners have been working incredibly hard to create a safe place for students to learn, play, grow and thrive at school in spite of the difficulties the country is facing right now. Economic turmoil, Covid-19 and recent fuel shortages and electricity supply issues have created many challenges, but our partners in Lebanon have proved their resilience and skill, as ever, to support the children and keep things running smoothly.

The children love the carpentry classes

There has been the threat of lockdown looming over the past few months in Lebanon, but this hasn’t materialised, so classes have been running as normal, and children have been preparing for recent exams.

Extra curricular activities have been going from strength to strength too. The carpentry students have been enjoying their classes and thriving, even building small tables for their classrooms, while the sewing students have excelled in their creative projects.

The Grade 9 students recently launched a project to find ways to support their local community. Working in teams, they came up with ideas and made plans to make them reality.

Read more about how they’ve been helping to fix tents and upcycle and distribute clothing >>

However, the school's generator was stolen in the autumn; which offered a reliable source of electricity in the midst of power outages across the country. Thankfully, the electricity supply has been fairly consistent so this theft hasn’t disrupted daily life at the school.

Our partners in Lebanon are currently applying for a grant that will help them replace the generator with solar panels to ensure a reliable supply of electricity for the future.

The school has been able to keep their vans filled with fuel to transport the children from the refugee camps where they live in the Bekaa Valley to school each day in Zahle.

Children in Grade 1 having fun

They have also been able to keep the school heated, ensuring the children warm in the midst of unusually harsh weather this winter when many families are struggling to heat their homes due to the cost of fuel.

Find out how you can support our winter fuel appeal here.

A ‘Shine’ class to support the girls in the school continues to be incredibly popular, and they are currently learning how to deal with life issues and problems.

"It’s wonderful to see some of the girls who are usually very serious, smile and laugh when working on projects and activities in the Shine class"

BETHANY LANIER, PROJECT OFFICER

MEET MAHMOUD

Mahmoud is a 15 year old student studying in grade 9. He comes from a large family and is one of eight siblings. His dream is to become an engineer when he gets older. He has been part of the programme we support in Lebanon since he arrived from Syria, eight years ago, attending the tent schools we supported before the new school building in Zahle was built.

Mahmoud loves his school and his teachers. He’s a keen learner who enjoys his lessons and particularly admires how great the communication is between the teachers and students. He says that teachers are like parents and describes how, “We are a community and we all love each other”. Mahmoud has even been part of a team from school helping to repair the tents of refugee families.

Mahmoud helping to fix tented homes in the Bekaa Valley

The grade 9 programme supports Syrian refugee children to return to Syria to take their high school diploma so that if a return home is possible one day, then they will have gained the right qualifications to continue education in Syria.

Mahmoud was not that enthusiastic about learning, but now he has the goal of the exams in Syria, he is motivated to succeed and receive his diploma so he can continue his education. He is a naturally quiet student but feels comfortable asking questions and participating in class.

"The teachers help us a lot. I was struggling in maths before and received individual support, and now I am good at it!”

Mahmoud tends to be more shy in the English and French classes as he feels less confident, but he told us he is now using the French and English skills he has learned in his daily life, when he sees signs around his community, he can read them and understand them.

Mahmoud recently started to struggle with his vision. His sight was getting increasingly blurry and he was struggling to read. School soon became a real challenge as he was constantly squinting and had to move to the front of class right beside the board in order to see and he had to ask his friend what was being written on the board. His family was concerned and took him to the optician, who confirmed that his eyesight was very poor. However, coming from such a large family and little income, his family had no extra money to spare to purchase glasses.

Mahmoud with his new glasses

Thankfully, Mahmoud’s teachers organised a donation, and were able to buy a pair of glasses for Mahmoud almost immediately. He was so happy with his new glasses and was relieved to feel he could keep up in class again.

The glasses are already helping Mamhoud feel more confident in his learning and will help him work toward his goal of finishing his education and becoming an engineer. He told his family: “Just wait, you will see!”.

Staff at the school agree, and are confident that Mahmoud has only scratched the surface of what he is capable of achieving in the future.

Children on the Edge has been supporting education for 300 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon since 2015. Initially based in four tent schools, but now in one central building in Zahle, we provide safe, fun classrooms, vocational and IT courses and a large outdoor playspace.

They are taught by Syrian refugee teachers in their own dialect, who are trained to deliver a bespoke Syrian and Lebanese curriculum. Staff use Montessori techniques to help children learn Arabic, maths, science, history, geography and English.