One evening we sat with Asma, one of our beloved teachers, in her home with her husband and children. All of her children have attended Hope Learning Center and she is one of our most valuable teachers. But we’ll tell you more about her later. Right now we want to tell you about her son.
As we sat together on mats on the floor in their sitting room with the TV on in the background. Asma was beaming telling us about the progress her son, Muhammad Nur, had made.
You see, this family fled violence in Syria about four years ago. That particular day they decided it was safer to make the journey to Lebanon than to stay in Syria, even though her husband was on business in the capitol. She bravely set off with her five children. It took them three long days on foot over the mountain range that separates Syria and Lebanon carrying the two youngest of her children.
For Muhammad Nur, trauma manifested in obvious ways. He developed anti-social behavior and had a very difficult time making friends and playing well with other children. At recess he would often be seen standing in the corner of the playground by himself. He also had a very challenging start in the classroom. Learning did not come easy and neither did appropriate classroom behavior.
Asma recognized that this was not who Muhammad Nur was. While some may have labeled him as disruptive or disobedient, you believed with us that he was more than his trauma allowed us to see.
That evening, drinking tea in their sitting room, Asma proclaimed that she couldn’t believe the improvement she was seeing. Not only could he read and write in both Arabic and English, but with tears in her eyes she declared that her son has made friends!
Through the generosity of people like you, Hope Learning Center’s trauma-informed classrooms are giving children like Muhammad Nur an opportunity to be defined, not by their trauma, but by who they are destined to be.
Giving Tuesday is on December 3 and we would like to ask you to make a difference for a student like Muhammad Nur at Hope Learning Center. Your generosity can help a Syrian child overcome their trauma and live in their destiny.
Mark your calendar. Maybe forgo a few lattes this week and stash that money for the big day. No investment is too big or too small. You are making a difference.
