When we walked into the classrooms, we saw enthusiastic children with big smiles,” reported David Troyer, CAM General Director, who recently visited refugee schools in Lebanon. “But then the teachers told us the tragic stories behind those smiles, and I had to wonder if our children would be able to smile if they had faced so much violence and sadness.”
Some of the children had witnessed a parent or other family member being killed. In some cases, the children are the only ones in their families left alive!
Christian schools in Lebanon are a place where these children from non-Christian homes can escape from the misery of the past.
“They are reluctant to leave school,” David recalls. “School is where they experience love, friendship, and safety.”
For a school assignment, one eight-year-old refugee child drew this picture and explained its meaning below:
The child who goes to school is happy. He is studying and learning new things. He is a good boy, and his parents think he is clever.
The child who doesn’t go to school is sad. He can’t see his friends and only eats, sleeps, and cries. His parents say, “We will put you in school,” but they don’t have any money.
