We arrived at the southern Turkish city Antakya yesterday evening. The city is the capital of Hatay province that neighbours Syria to the south and is currently home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The province was historically part of Syria. 

The purpose of our 4th visit to the region is to review our Syrian Children Back to School programme and develop further insight into the challenges facing the people of Syria.  

It is clear that the suffering has peaked to an intolerable level over the past three years.

The Read School (Kansafra, Jabal Al Zawiyah, Idlib, Syria)We begin the day by meeting with the Headteachers of our schools in Syria who have crossed the border to meet us.  

We are currently running 10 schools inside four provinces in Syria that serve over 2,500 primary age children. Many of these children are unable to read or write and illiteracy levels are extremely high.  

Our schools not only provide education but provide psychosocial support to traumatised children.  We are shocked to learn that some of the children attending our school have been abused in the presence of their parents.  Or vice versa. Many have witnessed their parents or siblings being abused or killed or kidnapped.

This is a huge challenge.   A local survey of 1500 children found 94% were traumatised due to witnessing a horrific scene.  

It was heartening to learn how our schools are able to secure the future of children and restore their dignity, innocence and confidence. The Read School (Huwayr, Aleppo Province, Syria)

The Headteachers present the reports for their school and outline the challenges they face. We are impressed by the phenomenal progress and the vibrant spirituality, character development, psycho-social support, and extra curricular programmes. 

We learn that a number of students have severe medical conditions and cannot afford the treatment.  

For example, an 11 year old girl at our Read School in Huwayr in the Aleppo province has a bullet in her chest and is unable to afford the treatment.   We agree to support her.  We are pleased to learn that our schools are also playing a wider role in the local communities by providing vocational training and water facilities.

However, thousands of children in Syria are without schooling and our work is merely a drop in the ocean. Due to limited finances, we are unable to cope with the demand and have to turn away children. 

Local communities are unable to afford as little as $50 per month for a teacher’s salary. In this context, our schools are also providing employment opportunities for teachers.

The most emotional moment of the day was when the Headteacher of our Read School in Alqahera explained how two siblings were killed by a shrapnel on their return from school. 

Ten year old Maryam Haj Ebrahim and her younger sibling nine year old Mazin were travelling home with their father on a motorbike.  

A missile struck as they approached a stationary shop.  A shrapnel from the missile pierced through Mazin’s body, then pierced through Maryam’s body and thereafter landed in the back of the father. 

Mazin was pronounced dead on the scene and he passed away holding a pencil whilst Maryam passed away shortly. 

The father survived the attack and continues to teach at the school. The Headteacher gives us the pencil to share the story of Maryam and Mazin with children worldwide.

Overall we are pleased with the progress of the schools and identify some improvements. 

The greater challenge is to consider innovative ways to expand our educational programmes vertically and horizontally to maximise impact and reach out to more children in need.  We pray to Almighty Allah to shower his mercy on on the region and its people.

An article by Tauheedul Charity