Hope for Syrian Students - November 2021 Update

Syria and Lebanon

Principal Dominique and Rev. Rola

After a two-year hiatus (first necessitated by political upheaval and then by the pandemic), the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon has been able to open their 4 schools for Syrian refugee children. This one, in Tripoli, started at the end of October with 65 children in four classes but will expand when they are able to hire an additional teacher. There are already many children on a waiting list.

As the principal, Dominique Nazha (l), and Rev. Rola Sleiman (r), pastor of the Presbyterian Church there explained to me on my recent visit, most of the families of these kids fled from the area around Homs, Syria, and few had ever been to school. So, even 10-year-olds may be learning the alphabet or writing their names for the first time. Dominque “broke down the statistics” of the older class of children who are 9 or 10: in a class of 13, only 2 knew the alphabet, a few could write their names, but most were completely illiterate. In a “normal” school these children would automatically be placed into the 4th or 5th grade based upon their age – where they would likely fail. But here, there is no shame in being behind and each student is attended to according to their learning needs.

The Tripoli school: a pink and white haven of Hope

When this refugee school in Tripoli began in 2016, they met in a few rooms of the old (vacated) Tripoli School for Boys which had been founded by Presbyterian missionaries back in 1873 and would grow into the Tripoli Evangelical School for Boys and Girls which still operates on a fresh, new, state-of-the-art campus. This year, the refugee school moved out of that dense, chaotic, inner-city location to a quieter “suburb” of Tripoli and found a building to rent that had recently been used as a preschool, complete with brightly painted walls and an inside playground. The same kids are able to attend, despite the location change, because busses are dispatched to pick them up. A hot meal is provided each day, as well as a breakfast snack.

The Synod, through its “diaconal arm” called the Compassion Protestant Society, oversees all the refugee schools and one of their plans is to soon implement tutoring programs that would utilize the school spaces in the evening. This would help not only the Syrian refugees but also local Lebanese students who need some additional educational support.

The Tripoli school had only been in session for one full day when one of the teachers reported that her students were very sad to learn they could not come on the weekend, too! This ministry of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon has also restarted at other sites: Minyara, Tyre, and Kab Elias (the Beqaa Valley). The love of Christ is being demonstrated, once again, to “the least of these” and The Outreach Foundation is grateful for your partnership in this redemptive work.

Joyfully,

Marilyn Borst, Associate Director for Partnership Development 

Read more about Hope for Syrian Students in Syria and Lebanon HERE.

THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Hope for Syrian Students. All gifts of any size are welcomed to help educate Syrian children and young people, be they refugees in Lebanon or those who remain in war but are preparing for God’s future in their own land. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.