Salim is Excited about School and Dreams for the Future
Salim looks intently into the camera. In a few days, he will get his sixth-grade final exam results. He is excited about getting the results despite struggles at the beginning of the academic year.
Salim is twelve years old and lives with his five siblings and parents in their modest home within the confines of the school building where he studies as his parents are the school guardians.
Salim likes Islamic studies because he finds it the easiest subject to master and during class recess, he studies, draws and paints. He likes to draw everything, but he particularly likes to draw nature, for example birds nesting over a tree in a cloudy sky. Salim likes nature’s beauty. In his spare time and at the weekend, he likes to go to see the nature and spend time at natural parks and playgrounds. His closest friend is Ibrahim. Salim and Ibrahim have known each other since the second year of primary school. They live together in the same neighborhood where they play soccer together.
Salim struggled earlier in the year with his studies, and he couldn’t read and write well. Salim said, “I was unable to read well, but now I can. My teachers, Aya, Emad, and Hussein, helped me the most. Now I can read and write everything. I feel happy now. Before I felt sad when I couldn’t read. Now I feel happy that I can. I would like to become an Islamic studies teacher.”
Salim’s mother noticed that Salim did well in the previous years but in the sixth grade he had difficulties with English language, maths, and social sciences. It has been two years now since World Vision Iraq with funding from Japan Platform came to the school where Salim studied at. Ever since, Salim registered for catch-up classes in Arabic language. 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.
Salim’s mother who herself only completed sixth year of primary school, said, “He was a little bit slow in reading and writing. But after the organisation intervened, his spelling and reading skills have improved.”
“If it was not for this organisation, he would probably have repeated the school year. We cannot afford to hire for him a private teacher. As you know my husband is a daily laborer. We cannot afford private tutoring.” She continued, “Salim is ambitious and wants to complete his studies and would like to be a teacher.”
World Vision Iraq with funding from Japan Platform initiated the catch-up classes in 2022. Throughout these years, we have helped 720 children like Salim with their educational needs, the opportunity to continue schooling, to pass exams, and have a chance in life.