Over 1.5 million Syrian refugees have fled into Lebanon, usually on foot and sometimes just with the clothes on their back and some hand luggage. Traumatised by war, life is especially difficult for the mums. They do not have any rights or access to state support, many are illiterate, struggling to navigate life in a country where they are unwelcome, which is itself in economic turmoil. They do not work, spending days on end in squalid settlement conditions. Isolated and with no sense of community, many are victims of domestic abuse. A sense of hopelessness and despair pervades their lives.

Our ‘Dar el Awlad’ complex in Beirut provides education to nearly 200 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugee children. When we started putting on classes for their mums about two years ago, we were amazed at how open they were, but also how difficult life is for them. 

Gimla is a mum of two children living in abject poverty in a Syrian refugee settlement in Lebanon. Although her children don’t come to our school Gimla heard about our programme from a friend and wanted to join. Gimla shared with us that her life before joining the groups was about taking her children to school in the morning and then coming back home to sleep. She spent her days at home feeling unmotivated, lazy, with no interests and nothing but household chores to do. 

When Gimla joined our groups, her life seemed to have some order and meaning! She started waking up in the morning with the excitement of meeting the ladies and learning together to help her kids with their studies. She established a good and healthy daily routine and set a goal ahead to do her own business and provide for her family. 

Because she suffered deprivation and endured hard life circumstances, Gimla had allowed jealousy to grow in her heart which made her judgmental of others. Our teacher spoke to Gimla about the danger of jealousy and the consequences it brings. Gimla was very open to this constructive criticism and realised the reason why the women are always avoiding her. She started working on herself to change and she did! Our teacher and all her friends saw the fast improvement and change and started getting closer to her. By the end of the year, Gimla was feeling loved and accepted by all. She stood up at one meeting and asked for forgiveness from the other women as she was very judgmental in her relationships with them. It was a deeply moving meeting, which brought the women even closer and healing to their relationships.