Their first educational experience is not like any other

For most children, the first day of school is filled with tears and hard goodbyes. But not for this generation who happens to experience the first day of school remotely from the comfort of their homes. Due to the global pandemic, one of the aspects that profoundly transformed is the concept of studying and going to school.

In partnership with UNICEF and funding from DFID, World Vision's Early Childhood Education (ECE) remote programme is targeting 125 Syrian refugee children in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

For six-year-old Rahaf, her first learning experience was not as expected. For a couple of years now, she was eager to go to school and make friends and even enjoy carrying her first backpack like her older sister Fidan. Unfortunately, it was not the case for her. Instead, Rahaf was among the children who started their education journey by learning remotely.

Before the program started, she was spending her days confined in her one-room house, with her parents and her sisters. During quarantine, Rahaf and her siblings were not allowed to go outside or interact with anyone. Her parents were very strict with the preventive measures to ensure the safety of all their children.

To ensure that children like Rahaf are encouraged to participate in remote learning, World Vision Lebanon provided children enrolled in the ECE programme with the necessary stationery. Her father Walid explains how much Rahaf takes care of her stuff, "she makes sure no one touches her colouring pencils and her homework papers, she takes good care of it".

Hassan, who is five, awaits for the weekly sessions impatiently. For this little boy, remote studying can sometimes be a bit difficult, but this is why he appreciates his sister Larissa's efforts in helping him with homework.

According to his mother, Kafiya, Hassan likes to study on his terms. "The benefits of remote learning are giving the child a choice to study at the moment or not. Sometimes Hassan gets confused and distracted, so his teacher moves to another student to give him time to focus and then comes back to him", she explains.

Kafiya is thankful for this chance that offered her little boy the opportunity to learn the alphabet, write, and read like his older siblings, and not to be denied the possibility of learning and miss a year of school because of the pandemic.

Aline, happens to find learning remotely to be the best option for studying. For this timid five-year-old little girl, studying and learning from home was a real joy for her. She likes to listen to different sessions while sitting in the living room. Like the other children, and because of the coronavirus, Aline did not get the chance to experience school life. "She enjoys her time at home studying and colouring attentively. She loves her stationery and does not let her brother touch her pencils nor her books", says her mother, Julian.

Before the online sessions, Aline spent her days helping her mother around the kitchen, for three months, her mother was terrified to let her go outside, and they all quarantined together.

Every week, through partners in the Beirut area, World Vision Lebanon prepares and distributes the learning material as hard copies for the students. Many challenges were faced during this process from the constant electricity cut to internet issues. That is why World Vision Lebanon is also providing parents with mobile recharge cards so students can stay in touch with their teachers. "Through WhatsApp voice notes, teachers explain to the parents what is requested from them", explains Khadija, Beirut area Education Project Manager, "the students will do this as per their convenience, and the teachers will follow up weekly with them to check their improvements". She continues, "the teachers are receiving positive feedback and comments from the parents", she adds, "besides the learning material, we are also providing psycho-social support worksheet and COVID19 messaging to try and cover more aspects."

Remote studying is giving children, who were about to miss not just one academic year, but an entire learning journey, the chance to gain knowledge, interact with other people, and receive an education.  It not might be the same experience as actually attending school, but amidst the circumstances, it is an alternative which the parents are grateful for.