“He wants to go to school,” she says with a tired smile. Before they just stayed at home all day.”īut when it came to her oldest child, a 12-year-old boy, she said she could not let him go with them. Now they can read and write and they are calmer. “They can’t wait every morning to come here,” she laughs. She says that when NRC came knocking on her door as part of their outreach programme, she gladly sent four of her seven children to the programme. The holistic approach ensures that not only are the children keeping up with their studies, but also that they are safe and happy after they leave school, especially important given the increase in the numbers of working children among impoverished families.įatima, 35, lives in the Palestinian camp of Bourj al-Shemali, just outside of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Awareness sessions are provided to parents, which teach the importance of education, gender equality and child protection. In addition, they engage in sport and other recreational activities. In Borghleieh, students aged 6-14 attend seven periods of classes a day, five times a week. The non-formal education project offers classes which boost their literacy, mathematics and language skills so that they may eventually integrate into the public school system. With the aim of bringing education to the estimated 400,000 out-of-school Syrian children in Lebanon, UNICEF’s non-formal education project helps refugee children who are not currently enrolled in the public school system due to challenges such as language barriers or stalled academic progress resulting from their geographic displacement. These funds ensure that the most vulnerable Syrian and Lebanese children affected by the crisis are provided with essential education, child protection and water and sanitation services.
The Government of the United Kingdom has been one of UNICEF’s largest donors in Lebanon since 2012, donating nearly USD $23.3 million to respond to impact of the Syria crisis in Lebanon. Parents at Borghleieh and the other locations all say the same thing: We want our children to keep learning so they have a chance at a positive future. The teachers are doing a great job and the benefit from this programme is so clear I really hope it continues.”Ībed is among many parents who wish for the kind of stability and hope brought by programmes like these.īorghleieh is one of five locations in the southern Lebanon where UNICEF and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) are implementing vital non-formal education projects funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) for almost 800 out-of-school Syrian refugee children.
He can already say the numbers and days of the week in English. “In Syria he went to school for just 15 days before we had to flee.” “I’m so happy I had the chance to register him here,” Abed says, his eyes shining. With a smile on his face, his father, 28-year-old Abed, places a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder, a wordless expression of pride. “I love being here because it offers an education.” He pauses, before adding shyly: “When I’m older I want to be a doctor.” “My favourite subject is English,” he says when he is finished. He says them quickly, and although his eyes are fixed on the ceiling and his hands are knotted together, his voice does not waver he knows them perfectly. ©UNICEF/Lebanon-2014/ BrooksĪl- Borghleieh, LEBANON – With a gentle prod of encouragement from his father, 6-year-old Ahmad nervously steps forward and recites the numbers one to 10 in English.
Syrian refugee children are taught basic literacy and numeracy skills in non-formal education programmes.
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