Moving Up! Displaced Iraqi Children and Their Peers Celebrate Graduation
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Students dancing at the Amoun School graduation. |
Dancing, cheering, singing, smiling and a lot of picture-taking took place on graduation day for children at the Amoun School in Amman, Jordan. It was a momentous day as it marked a joint graduation of Jordanian and Iraqi students in the school, a first at the school since the government of Jordan allowed all students, regardless of residency status, to enroll in Jordanian schools in August 2007.
The Amoun School, in the Jabal Hussein area, is one of 24 community-based schools that Save the Children has been working with in the past year to ensure that displaced Iraqi children living in Jordan attend school.
More than 24,600 Iraqi children are now receiving an education in Jordan. Save the Children is supporting the Ministry of Education to ensure that, in addition to increased education access, these same children are benefiting from safe, quality learning environments and progressing to the next grade level.
The Amoun School utilizes the Jordanian curriculum; however, science and math classes are conducted in English. This year, the school had 70 Iraqi students enrolled, and the transition was not easy for the new students, according to Principal Mayada Al Natour.
"The Iraqi children suffered from violence, bullying and discrimination at school at first; but in the middle of the semester, Save the Children helped us organize an activity day at Sports City in Amman. Through games and other activities Iraqi and Jordanian students competed together, and now there is true integration of all students in the school," she said.
The sense of community was apparent on graduation day. All students, from kindergarten to eighth grade, graduated. The ceremony lasted for more than two hours, with dances (including traditional Jordanian and Iraqi dabke), songs, and prayers performed by students at all levels. Among those attending the graduation, were the students' parents, family and friends, a representative from UNHCR (which paid school fees), as well as the cultural attaché for Iraq in Jordan.
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Students at the Amoun School graduation. |
The Ta'leem ("learning" in Arabic) Program was initiated by Save the Children in January 2007 in response to the need to assist Iraqi children displaced by war and sectarian conflict in Iraq, which has forced a large number of Iraqis from their homes to countries throughout the region, including Jordan. Children living in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt are supported by this initiative, which focuses on increased education access and improved quality of education for both Iraqis and host-country nationals. Ta'leem is part of Save the Children's "Rewrite the Future" initiative to provide education for children affected by armed conflict.
The graduation at Amoun School represented just one of the successes the Ta'leem Kids Program was able to achieve in just one year. In addition, the program:
- Enrolled more than 1,200 Iraqi children in formal schooling.
- Enrolled 1,150 Iraq and Jordanian children in remedial classes.
- Trained more than 80 teachers and local service-provider staff in safe spaces approaches.
- Developed new emotional-support (psychosocial) and protection training materials for teachers to help them better manage classrooms and address issues of acceptance and integration of Iraqis. The training is designed to provide simple tips and approaches to better classroom management and self-esteem building strategies.
- Developed and distributed 10,000 psychosocial tips sheets for parents. The materials will be adapted for UNICEF distribution in Iraq by the UNICEF Iraq office. Save the Children will soon reprint materials due to continuing demand.
- Conducted initial research and assessment of child-centered protection needs in schools. This is a pilot study for more widespread, child-centered and needs assessment components in public schools.
- Distributed 10,000 school kits to Iraqi and Jordanian children (consisting of stationery, books, backpacks, uniforms, shoes) in hundreds of public schools across the kingdom.
- Distributed educational supplies (UNICEF "schools in a box") to an additional 46 schools.
- Developed innovative teaching strategies and classes for 32 severely wounded Iraqi children.
- Recruited a network of 65 highly qualified Iraqi volunteers to assist with outreach, kit distribution and other program development and delivery.
