We Need Education So We Need Rebuild Our Home
Like many teenagers in Jordan, Ghada is nervously awaiting her exam
results. “The exams were very hard. They consisted of multiple choice questions
on many different areas. I hope I did well.” The 18-year-old from Syria took
the first round of her final year Tawjihi exams in January; nine subjects
including
Maths, English, Arabic and History. “The English and Maths exams were
the hardest,” she says. But unlike other teenagers, Ghada studied for her exams
in a cramped caravan she shares with her mother and eight siblings, at the
Za’atari refugee camp, near Amman. “It’s really hard for us all to sleep in one
room. It was challenging during my exams and I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t
get time to study on my own,” she adds. Nevertheless, Ghada is optimistic about
her future: “I really love school; my friends are there, I love the teachers, I
love everything about it. My dream is to be an excellent Arabic teacher. Back
in Syria I had the most amazing teacher, and she inspired me to be one. So I
want to achieve this dream and go back and thank her.” Ghada’s family,
originally from Rif, outside Damascus, came to Za’atari a year ago. Her father,
an English teacher, stayed in Syria, and Ghada hasn’t seen him since. When the
shelling started, Ghada couldn’t go to school any more. “We stopped seeing
people in the school, and I was scared for my future and my studies. I didn’t
know what to do.” Upon their arrival in Za’atari, the family lived in a tent.
Life was hard, but gradually things got better for Ghada. “When we first came
here, I thought my life had collapsed; I was very sad. Then day by day we
started to get by, meet new people and make friends.” Two months later, the
UNICEF-supported school opened. Many girls like Ghada stop going to school,
because of being behind or because their parents want them to work or to get
married. Her classmate Lamia*, 17, almost dropped out after missing a year of
school. “I felt like I was lost, but without an education there wouldn’t be a
life for me,” she says. A total of 2.68 million Syrian children are currently
out of school in Syria and neighbouring countries; more than 90,000 of these
are in Jordan. UNICEF is working with partners across the region to deliver
education and vocational training, as well as providing teacher training and
learning materials to help children continue their studies. Along with
partners, we’re calling on world leaders to invest in the education of
psychological protection of all children affected by the conflict, to help
prevent a lost generation. “If we stopped our education, Syria wouldn’t be
built again,” says Ghada. “We need doctors, we need engineers. We need
education so we can re-build our home.”
00:48:00
No comments
Post a Comment