Falling Behind…

Education groups associated with the United Nations kicked off a campaign this week to raise $250 million to send one million Syrian refugee children to school in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. Having spent a great deal of time with young Syrian refugees working on the streets of Beirut, I’ve seen how far they’ve fallen behind in their education over the past few years. In addition to missing out on classroom learning, many young Syrian refugees have also missed out on playtime and recreational activities — which are essential for personal development, creative discovery, and experiential learning.

It wasn’t until I began taking young Syrian refugees on “field-trips” to experience their first horse ride, boat ride, and carnival ride that I realized how starved they were for time to “just be kids” — and enjoy a day off from shining shoes. The precious time that millions of Syrian refugee kids have lost in their educational and personal development cannot be recovered — these kids will be living with the consequences of missing out on school and a peaceful childhood for many decades to come…