Kindergarten for 100 Syrian children in Lebanon

Activities at the kindergarten are severely restricted at the moment due to problems in Lebanon including power cuts and food shortages. The teachers do the best to keep contact with all the students and their families but are unable to conduct regular classes.

In this report we would like to share two stories from previous meetings with students and parents at the kindergarten.

One student was in her last year at the kindergarten and was quite excited about moving on to elementary school. We asked about her life and where her family was from in Syria. However, she did not remember because she was born in Lebanon, so that is what she knows and, thanks to the kindergarten, where her friends are. The young Syrian told us how much she enjoyed the classes because she can play, sing and dance with her friends.
Her father and grandfather are working in Germany to support the family, so her mother cares for her and her brother and grandmother.
She graduated from the kindergarten a year after we met her and she was able to start Lebanese elementary school.

We met a Syrian woman who had fled Syria with her husband five years before.  They are from Damascus and told us how they had to move four times within Syria to keep safe before arriving in Lebanon. Their two daughters were born in Lebanon and she heard about the kindergarten through the community at her mosque. She enrolled the oldest daughter in the kindergarten and was delighted with the education and kindness of the staff. Her daughter was quite lonely at first and she struggled with her pronunciation, often sitting alone. Socialising at school helped her a great deal and her confidence grew to the extent that she now talks easily.

That was three years ago and her eldest daughter is now ready to graduate and move on to elementary school while her youngest daughter is ready to enroll in the kindergarten.

We hope that school can resume its regular activities soon.