2016: Healing Classrooms Challenge

At the tender age of 10, Nada* was forced to flee her home in Hama after watching her grandfather and neighbors lose their lives during a bombing campaign. She and her family managed to escape to a crowded displacement camp in Idleb in northern Syria. For the next several years, Nada often cried herself to sleep, suffering from recurring nightmares and bedwetting. She withdrew into herself, reluctant to participate in school activities. Nada, now 13-years-old, was introduced to IRC counselors who recognized her distress and began one-on-one counseling sessions after speaking with her parents. These sessions are designed to support children who have been affected by displacement and trauma and help them to regain a sense of control and normalcy in otherwise abnormal circumstances. Nada refuses to allow trauma, war and bloodshed define who she is; instead, she has been inspired to advocate for other children like herself who have been caught in the crosshairs of relentless violence. “We are the generation that will rebuild Syria,” she says with new confidence. “We must not lose hope, we have to study and go to school. Despite everything that has happened, we are children of Syria and we will stay strong and go back to our homes one day.”

Sending in pinwheels! Photo via Natasha M Lawler

Since IRC school started in khiara, Hamza and Mouawiya were in enrolled in school and are showing real perseverance and commitment towards success. The two brothers are big fans of drawing. They hold an amazing talent that able them to imagine, draw and pay attention to simple details in each drawing. In partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has committed to serving displaced youth through our Healing Classrooms program in Iraq and Lebanon. Additionally, funds support work to enhance social and emotional learning components within the existing Healing Classrooms curriculum to improve children’s ability to survive conflict and succeed later in life. Continuous mentoring and monitoring is provided for teachers to ensure teaching is supporting improved learning and social-emotional outcomes for children. Teachers work to improve social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, such as interpersonal skills, emotional and cognitive skills, emotional regulation and management, and empathy for others. These skills are framed around the core SEL competency areas of brain building, emotional regulation, perseverance, positive social skills, and conflict resolution. The program also supports the training of Parents Committees in supporting the education of the Syrian children through the provision of a variety of training including parenting skills for the PTA members and parents from the community.

The Caring Comets team with their 1050 pinwheels made for the Healing Classrooms Challenge.

The Hockadaisies team with their pinwheels for the Healing Classrooms Challenge.

The Hope Lutheran School's team was mighty!

The team at John Rogers Elementary displayed their pinwheels in the school hallways!

Some of the pinwheels you made for the Healing Classrooms Challenge made their way to a Healing Classroom in Syria!

The Concord Carlisle Kids Care First Graders made plenty of pinwheels for the Healing Classrooms Challenge!