Syrian Refugee Children Find Hope, Solace at School in Lebanon
September 18, 2014
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Thousands of Syrian refugee children are growing up without an education.
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Raafat, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Lebanon, joins a steady
stream of children walking circumspectly toward a cinderblock school
building on the outskirts of their tent settlement. Some of the
children, never cracking a smile, look like they are bearing the weight
of the world.
The two-story building is not much more than a stone’s throw from
some of the makeshift shelters. Here Raafat and one of his younger
brothers can leave the squalor and sorrow of camp life behind and focus
on more uplifting subjects, such as geography or poetry.
Like the other students, he is two or three years behind in his
studies – another tragic consequence of the war in Syria. Still, he
considers himself one of the lucky ones among the more than 400 refugee
children. He has a mom and a dad; many of the kids lost at least one
parent before their families fled Syria.
Of the five siblings in Raafat’s family, only two are going to
school. His older sister stays at home to help their mother, and his
15-year-old brother dropped out of school and found a job to help
support the family. He earns $26 a week.
“I love learning, and when I grow up I want to go back to my country
to become a math teacher and help other children learn,” said Raafat,
his face lighting up.
Moved with compassion
Hafiz
*, the school’s director, is a
Bedouin chief and follower of Jesus Christ. In the 1950s, his
grandfather prayed that one day there would be a school for the many
uneducated children of herdsmen in their tribe.
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The school is a hub for food distribution to the Syrian refugees.
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Hafiz’s father fulfilled that dream in 1961, when he started a
school in a tent in Lebanon’s picturesque Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian
border. A Christian Aid Mission-assisted ministry in Lebanon began
partnering with the school in 1998, supplying books, heating fuel,
transportation for students and salaries for teachers. They also opened a
Christian camp in the mountains that more than 70 Bedouin children
attend every summer.
With the outbreak of war in Syria in March 2011, the small Bedouin
school suddenly found itself encircled by a tent city of refugees who
fled across the border. While Bedouin youngsters were learning to read
and do simple arithmetic, Syrian children within sight of the school’s
windows played in the dirt. That was more than the Bedouin chief and the
Lebanese ministry leader, Ammad
*, could bear.
“Like the Bedouins, the Syrian refugees are marginalized people,
second-class citizens,” Ammad said. “We knew we had to jump in and
help.”
The school gives the refugee children enough of a foundation so they
can at least read and write, he said, “and we are able to share the
gospel with them and their families.”
As 120 Bedouin children quickly filled the facility’s six classrooms
to near capacity, the school divided the day into two shifts – Bedouin
kids in the morning and Syrians in the afternoon. But Syrian children
kept coming. About 420 now attend, and Ammad estimates double that
number have been turned away for lack of space.
Just 14 instructors, themselves Syrian refugees, do their best to
educate the children without the convenience of books, classroom
materials, or even a salary. Aminah
*
teaches math at the school. Before the war, she was an accountant at a
travel agency in Syria and her husband worked for Pepsi Cola. They fled
to Lebanon with their two young sons over a year ago.
Teaching without training or salary, she says she can see a “90
percent improvement” in the lives of students she has taught during the
last five months.
“That makes it worthwhile,” she said.
Love of Jesus
Some of the Syrian children have been subjected to the unspeakable
horror of seeing their parents slaughtered. Girls have been raped. Their
houses have been shelled or burned. Hunger is a constant companion.
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School provides stability in the lives of children whose world is turned upside down.
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The school, by contrast, is the first place they hear the words, “Jesus loves you.”
Working with local believers, the Lebanese ministry conducts
outreach to both children and their families. Sometimes the children
introduce their parents to Christ.
“Many parents like that their children are now less aggressive,”
Ammad said. “They don’t hit anymore. They are more caring and loving
toward others. They ask us, ‘What did you do to our kids?’ I tell them,
‘We just give them the love of Jesus.’”
Bible camps in the summer, where children hear a clear presentation
of the gospel, have been particularly fruitful. Ammad estimates about
two-thirds of the children who attend camp decide to follow Jesus.
As part of his ministry’s evangelistic outreach, Ammad said Lebanese
Christians, many of them converts from Islam, do visitation and
follow-up with families in the refugee camps. They pray with them, share
the gospel, and connect them with area house churches.
Offering an eight-week Bible study that presents a biblical
foundation, the ministry works with nine house groups of about a dozen
people each. Essentially all of those who go through the study become
Christians. The ministry gives participants New Testaments, spiritual
counseling and puts them in contact with several churches.
“They do not advertise the groups. It is all by word-of-mouth,” said
Ammad. “So every two months this one program sends 100 new believers to
the churches. This demonstrates the hunger for the Lord among the
Syrian refugees.”
Last year a Syrian mother brought her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old
daughter to the ministry; she fell to her knees as she pleaded for
someone to take care of her children.
“We prayed with her and helped her children,” said Ammad. “The
children go to the Bedouin school. Their mom started going to one of the
house groups and has become a believer. They are all doing great.”
The humanitarian needs are challenging, but seeing the spiritual growth is beautiful, Ammad said.
“We need as much help as possible to continue to reach as many kids as we can.”
The cost to cover books, school materials, and snacks for one child
per month is about $40. The ministry would also like to provide a living
allowance to the school’s teachers. The total cost to operate the
school, including salaries for teachers, student supplies, and
maintenance and upkeep of the building, exceeds $10,000 per month. Any
amount is appreciated, as this school provides a lifeline and an anchor
of hope for traumatized Syrian children.
*(names changed)
Use the form below to contribute online. Or
call 434-977-5650 to contribute by phone. If you prefer to mail your
gift, please mail to Christian Aid Mission, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 412COL. Thank you!
Henry,
in Uganda baptized a former devil-worshiper. "He and his clan regularly
made sacrifices to the devil and he was often called upon to bewitch
others."
