Help Traumatized Palestinian Children

Success at the Spafford Children’s Center is measurable. Children make amazing progress when they have a comprehensive assessment, are given individualized instruction, and are supported at home by parents trained to help them.

Consider Raafiq who was brought to the SCC last November by his mother. The 5^th grader lives with his parents and two siblings in Jerusalem. The main concern was Raafiq’s struggle with math; he couldn’t write or count numbers beyond 10 and subtraction, multiplication, and division of two-digit numbers confused him. Raafiq did not know how to distinguish geometric shapes or how to use a ruler. A clock was a circle with numbers that had little meaning to the boy.

The SCC assessment found visual perceptual issues and a poor foundation in arithmetic operations. The teacher found that Raafiq had a strong desire to learn and the mother was committed to helping, although her mathematics education was limited. Progress was steady, but not quick. Raafiq came to the SCC every week (Covid closures permitting) for nearly a year. He worked with the math teacher and came to love the board games with counting, the puzzles that challenged his ability to add and subtract, number cards, and practicing on the classroom white board with two other colleagues in the SCC class. The teacher reinforced Raafiq’s achievements with verbal praise, small gifts, and cards for him to take home.

Now Raafiq can read numbers up to a million, has mastered addition and subtraction, makes his way through three-digit multiplication and division, can distinguish and draw shapes, and loves using rulers, protractors, and calipers. The teacher at his regular school is so pleased she has referred other children to SCC.

Your donations helped to pay for the specially trained teacher, the games and puzzles in the classroom, and the sessions for Raafiq’s mother. Not only has Raafiq made exceptional progress, but his siblings are also benefiting from what his mother has learned. She feels better about her ability to help her children learn and thrive. Coming to the Spafford Children’s Center makes a difference…and you make if possible.