Respond from the “Homework and Creative Activities Center” of SolidarityNow in the open accommodation structure for refugees and asylum seekers in Drama.
Shevin Ali, 16 years old from Syria (Kurdish origin)
What have you learned so far at the HCAC?
I have learned Greek and English, which in the past I did not know at all. I have learned to read and write!
What’s your favourite thing about going to the HCAC?
I really like the languages and the fact that I now have the opportunity to learn them. I like that I am given the opportunity to paint and use painting in lessons, which I like so much! Through the actions taking place in the Center, I learned to have confidence, courage and to decide for myself.
Ali Ali, father of Shevin from Syria (Kurdish origin)
What difference have you seen in your child/children since they start going to the Centre?
My children can translate, read and explain things to me, something they couldn’t do before!
How do you think the HCAC will help your child stay in school and do well academically?
Teachers support children and insist on going to school. This is very important, that is, to make children understand how important education is and how much it helps to build their future. Through education, they will be able to pass from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.
Elpida Kritikou, teacher, from Greece
What are the Centers doing for refugee children that wasn’t being done before?
Through the ACE program, a good and inseparable relationship has been built between formal and non-formal education. The basis has now been laid for the children to perceive the educational process as unified and thus to move towards the fulfillment of their learning goals. The stable and seamless cooperation (of formal and non-formal education) with the psychosocial service is also the appropriate framework in which our students realise their role in the educational process.
Do you have an example of a child who has responded well to the teaching at the HCAC?
An example is the 11-year-old Zahra from Iraq who through the courses and activities we offer, has learned the Greek language very well (now she can interpret herself between the teacher and her classmates) and progresses in formal education. At the same time, she has developed psychosocially to a great extent and got acquainted with teamwork, a skill she had not cultivated before starting to attend our classes.
*The project “All Children in Education” (ACE) is implemented by SolidarityNow with support and funding from UNICEF.