This wonderful Christian school provides an education for 130 or so of Beirut’s most vulnerable and impoverished Syrian refugee children, including food, family support, trauma informed care, life skills and more. Many of the kids are years behind in their education having fled the war in Syria.
Our Dar El Awlad School cares for some of the most vulnerable children in Lebanon. The community here has always had a diverse makeup, including Lebanese children from extreme poverty and broken homes, abandoned or lost children without links to families, and migrant or refugee children lacking rights or access to basic needs. This blend presents a truly unique and inspiring glimpse of God’s kingdom.
The food and education we provide would otherwise be very difficult for them to have, which in turn provides a structure, meaning and hope in their lives.
There are currently about 130 students at Dar El Awlad School, including 20 from our Dar el Alwad Residential Centre. In addition to the required Lebanese curriculum, we offer Bible classes and enriching extra curricular activities, as well as trauma care and family support. Our students are eager to learn, understanding that a good education is their best opportunity for a successful future.
Meet Grace (name changed to protect privacy)
Grace is seven years old and is from an Ethiopian family, which makes life hard here because of discrimination based on skin colour. Sadly, her father recently died after battling cancer, and Grace has not been able to deal with the loss. She was very attached to her father, sleeping by his side and caring for him in his last days.
Though she was a fairly happy girl before his death, she changed dramatically after it. Trouble concentrating in school, frequent nightmares, and stomach pain plague her now. She seems lost most of the time, unable to communicate her grief. Her mother works long hours cleaning homes to provide for the family, leaving Grace alone much of the time.
Our counsellor has put together a plan to help this little girl to accept what has happened and learn how to handle her emotions. It may take a long time, but we hope to break through her pain and give her tools so she can begin to heal.