CNEWA’s regional director in Beirut, Michel Constantin, passed along this update on the Dbayeh Refugee Camp, which was established in the early 1950’s to shelter Palestinian refugees expelled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. CNEWA has been supporting an educational program at the camp, which is now helping Syrian children whose educational level is very low and who may need remedial studies and therapy in order to adapt and fit it.
Sometimes, the challenges can be quite daunting. Without help, the children could be doomed to become drop-outs. That could have been the fate for one young girl in particular — but Michel wanted us to know her story and how CNEWA’s support for this program had made a profound difference:
Sajida el Saleh is a 9-year-old Muslim Syrian girl from Aleppo who fled the war zone and found refuge in a small rented house on the edge of Dbayeh Camp. She lives with her parents and two brothers.
Following her admission in the second-grade remedial program for Syrian students in October 2016, Sajida was referred for a speech therapy assessment; the assessment showed written language difficulties. She had a weak ability to read and write, due to a variety of problems, including an inability to make the connection between certain letters and certain sounds.
Throughout the academic year 2016-2017, Sajida followed speech therapy sessions to help her improve her pre-reading and writing skills. Through follow-ups, it was discovered that Sajida also had hearing difficulties. Her parents were advised to consult a specialist. The diagnosis showed hearing malfunction that required a hearing aid.
By the end of the school year, Sajida, started hearing properly. With the assistance of a speech therapist, she showed major improvements. She is now able to read syllables and words and form simple sentences easily.
The specialist follow-up, along with the skills improvement in reading and writing, enabled her to take the end-of-year exams and pass her class. Sajida was admitted to public school in the third grade.
The remedial program, with the psycho-social support, gave Sajida the opportunity to grow on many levels — physically, intellectually and socially.
There are now about 520 families living in the Dbayeh Refugee Camp, a growing number are Syrians with young children.