Refugee School Teachers, Books and a Big Vision
Please take a close look at this photo. What do you see?
Did you notice the boy sitting to the left, busying himself in the midst of what seems like a catastrophe? Death appears to be lurking all around him, there are bodies littered carelessly on the ground amidst the chaos, probably waiting to die. Yet, this child is fully engaged.
What is he doing?
He’s reading.
Is he preparing for an exam?
Is he studying for a big test?
Drawing?
Painting?
Maybe, just reading for the love of a good story which can transport him away from his current circumstances.
Whatever it is he’s doing, it has him. A book is open before him. Can a book be such a precious thing right in the midst of colossal hopelessness? Yes. It can.
Some things in life can be taught, but not the kind of hunger this boy has. Hunger is cultivated in us, and until it occurs, little can be accomplished. With hunger comes the price, and then, the prize.
Our children are on loan from God for a short season. Their discipleship and maturity under our leadership is a task that demands a long-term investment. How can we pour into the children?
Looking at the influences in their lives, school teachers are on the frontlines of their education. They have the day to day contact with each child, wielding greater guidance than many parents, and most pastors. Such is the case in renown countries the world over.
However, most teachers undervalue their unique call. This is especially true in difficult places like refugee camps. Think about what education in a refugee environment looks like?
Imagine this. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) estimated ratio of students per teacher in 2019 in refugee settlements is 1:53, yet the current 1:81 ratio is significantly above that estimate.
Consider that these camps are located in regions with low socio-economic development, poor landscape for meaningful livelihood, harsh weather and many other obstacles. At noon in the camps, it is normal to have temperatures over 40oC daily.
The question is: How do these teachers teach and how do these children learn in such discomfort?
The answer? Hunger and Hope.
Without the hunger for a better tomorrow and the hope that it is achievable, this would be truly miserable beyond words. There would be no heart for it.
Organizations, governments and departments all have ideas of what education in a refugee settlement should look like, but knowing the realities and living in them are two different things. It is the school teachers on ground that are saddled with the incredible responsibility of enduring the hardships in order to cultivate greatness and bring healing to young minds.
The spirit of a teacher is to make a difference in the life of their students. This is a characteristic found in teachers all over the world. It is the unique ability to endure, believe and have the tenacity to carry out their calling. Hope is the fuel that says, we can do it!
Many parents, as broken as their children in these camps, entrust their greatest treasures— their children, to these refugee teachers, confident, that despite the difficult environment, tomorrow will certainly be better than today. With grit and determination, the community moves forward, together, for the future of the children.
These beacons of hope find little support for their work on a day to day basis, and this leads to discouragement as they cannot continue the task at the economic peril to their own families.
In many refugee schools untrained teachers are working in complex classroom settings, made up of large numbers of mixed age learners with varied psycho-social needs. They do so with very little, if any, pay.
These teachers need strong support and more training if the children entrusted to them are to receive the basic literacy and numeracy skills required to successfully transition from one level to another, year after year.
Unfortunately, the teachers in the refugee schools have little or no preparation to work in such a difficult environment. A school is only as good as its teachers, and without equipping these teachers, the chance these children will successfully grow into peace-lovers, peace-makers and peace-keepers, is nearly impossible.
To proceed with this vision and in partnership with Advancing Leaders International USA and Church of Uganda Madi West Nile Diocese, we are bringing empowerment trainings to these refugee teachers beginning at Rhino camp refugee settlement in West Nile region, Uganda.
We lack words to appreciate the friends who have donated books and sponsored our facilitators to this 4day conference with refugee teachers (21st – 24th May). On our minds is one topic— Literacy. It is the cornerstone of education here and now. It is the cornerstone of peace in the future.
We envision the refugee camps flooded with good books. We are striving to provoke a passion for reading and a love of learning, here. Can you partner with us to make this happen, and to lift South Sudan out of illiteracy? Due to decades of war, the young nation has the highest illiteracy rate in the world.
Our aim is to put good books within the reach of every refugee child and to equip every teacher with the ability to unlock language for their students. Equipping refugee teachers to create an atmosphere for this vision to thrive is critical.
What better way to prepare their return home than by empowering the children of a nation who are attempting to heal, evolve and thrive, even as they wait?
South Sudan Oye!!
