MEET JANA

Jana (right) and her siblings and mother at the education center’s 2022-2023 graduation

My name is Jana and I am 14 years old. I have 2 older brothers and 4 younger siblings (10, 8, 2, and 1 year old). We are from the province of Idlib in Syria and very early in the war, we had to flee the violence and extremism. My father saw his siblings, neighbors, and friends die before his eyes. His parents are still in Syria and I have never seen them since. My mother’s parents also passed away in the war.

Life is difficult in Lebanon. My father works as much as he can, but he suffers from bulged discs in his back and from the consequences of a hand injury and surgeries. Because he cannot carry heavy things anymore, he can barely find work. Unfortunately, my two older brothers who are 19 and 17 years old need to work to help us financially. The oldest one was heartbroken not to be able to study, but our family doesn’t have a choice. I have been very worried for him as he recently broke his wrist at work, and we could not afford the surgery he needed. My brothers’ salaries combined barely covers rent and electricity, and one of them recently broke his wrist. Our landlord now charges us $70 for a one-room rooftop apartment. We don’t even have a fridge and sometimes we can’t buy groceries. My parents worry all the time.

Our neighbors told my mom about the education center run by the church and she decided to enroll me and two of my siblings. We have been in the center for four years and we love it so much!

I had only studied part of grade 1 in Syria before we fled the war. I missed several years of education in Lebanon as I was unable to attend public or private school. This center is the only place where I received an education. It felt so good going there, because I was able to learn how to read and write. I even learned English! The teachers teach us well and we also learn from their strong values. I especially like how fair they always are.

Every time I saw someone speaking with confidence in a microphone, I used to wish it could be me one day. Thanks to the center, I was able to do that by leading a discussion with younger students. I just graduated from the center and I am so proud of myself and very excited to see how much more I can do in the future! I just learnt that I might benefit from a prevocational training through the church next year. It makes me so happy because I want to continue learning and I don’t want to leave this place!

The church has been really helpful to us. They are like family. They give us milk for my younger siblings, food boxes, and other things. What we saw in the church, we did not see in anyone else. No one supported us like this. Not even our own people.

We pray for Lebanon that God would help them in this terrible crisis the country is going through. My dad really wishes he could help. Sometimes when a Lebanese person asks him help in plumbing or other housework, he doesn’t charge them if he knows they are struggling as well.

My parents say our area in Syria is not safe to return to and they wish to travel to another country. My mom often says that people who go to other countries feel like they are alive and live with dignity. As for me, here or anywhere else, my only hope is to study more to secure a brighter future, and my ultimate dream is to become a pediatrician.