Finding Hope in Education
Hibah is a twenty-nine-year-old Syrian refugee and a mother of two girls, Sabi and Rukan. She escaped the scenes of bombing, war and violence and came to settle in South of Lebanon seeking refuge and safety.
“When we reached South Lebanon, we lived in primitive conditions in informal tented settlements, and struggled to afford residency fees, rent, utilities and food.” Hibah said.
After some time living in these temporary conditions, Hibah and her girls found a house on a farm. Although now in a more solid structure, the conditions were not much better than the tented settlements.
“My daughter Rukan, who is seven years old, had a terrible experience where we were living.” she says. “One day at night the police raided our house aggressively. Rukan was terrified! She grabbed me hopelessly and started to cry hysterically. After that, Rukan’s life changed.”
Rukan could no longer sleep peacefully. It was if she had regressed, and she began to wet the bed. She could not sleep with the light off and whenever she is in a dark environment, her phobia was triggered.
Our Orphan’s Promise partner, Heart for Lebanon, heard about Hibah and her daughters and stepped in to help. We were able to provide support for Hibah, as well as food and education for the girls. In addition, our project offered counselling and psychological support for Rukan.
“Our living conditions were so poor until we met Heart for Lebanon.” Hibah added. “I thank God every day for sending us those people. They supported us and helped us survive by providing a monthly food package and allowed my daughters Sabi and Rukan to join the educational center.”
We have seen an incredible change in Rukan since she has started at the center. When she began, she would struggle in class. “Rukan used to complain whenever I turned the light off in order to let them see the screen clearly,” her teacher remembered. “I used to tell her to look to the bright side of the room, not the dark one in order to calm her down.”
Over time, Rukan felt better and started to adapt. Her behaviour began to change when the light was off. She has even started to offer to turn the light off when it is needed. She has made huge steps in overcoming her fear of the dark! Not only her psychological state changed but also her spiritual and academic states, too!
Her teacher remarked, “Something obvious was her benefit from the Bible stories that helped her realize that Jesus Loves her.”
Hibah has been fascinated by the change in Rukan. “Whenever she comes back from the center, she tells me the stories she heard about Jesus in class and how much He Loves children.”
After a long time of struggling with fear, Rukan has found hope in the darkness. Her life wasn’t brightened by chance, it was enlightened by change. Through the work of Orphan’s Promise teams and partners, Rukan has found confidence and courage in her mind, and her fear was blown away.
To find out how you can be part of the journey in helping other children, just like Rukan, find hope and light in the darkest of places through partnering with us click here.