Duaa improves her spelling through Catch-Up classes

In a primary school in the west side of Mosul, Duaa, 10, studies in the fifth grade. Though colorfully decorated, this classroom is crowded with around fifty other students.

Duaa’s mother notes Duaa’s struggle to learn spelling and reading and says, “The problem is not with the quality of the teachers, it is with the classrooms. There are at least fifty students in one class. There is an insufficiency of staff to teach smaller numbers of students.”

It was painful for Duaa’s mother to see her daughter struggle in school, knowing the importance of education for the development of her children’s characters and their future prospects. As a mother of three, she wants Duaa and her two other children finish their education, become self-reliant and financially independent in life. “Even if she gets married, it is important to have education to be independent and be able to help her family in the future.”

Earlier this year, Duaa participated for six months in the catch-up classes that World Vision Iraq with funding from Japan Platform implements in West Mosul. Duaa said, “I was not able to read and write but after the catch-up sessions I improved.”

These days, Duaa likes Arabic language and maths the most.

Duaa is a very calm child and has a sweet and kind heart. Whenever she fights with her younger sister, she is the forgiving one. And during her spare time, Duaa likes to play hide and seek with her best friend. In the future, she would like to become a doctor to treat young children.

During the coming school break, Duaa looks forward to going to the playgrounds to enjoy her free time.

The Arabic catch up classes are extra after hour classes that help students master Arabic reading and writing, which in turn helps them to understand content in other subjects. This way it will increase the student's comprehension of several other subjects more easily.  Each catch up class endures for forty five minutes and World Vision Iraq offers two to three sessions a week for children aged seven to twelve.

World Vision Iraq with funding from Japan Platform initiated the catch-up classes in 2022. Throughout these years, we have helped 720 children like Duaa with their educational needs, providing the opportunity to continue schooling, to pass exams, and have a chance in life.