Given that we host many families with children, it makes sense to be very interested in the protection and inclusion of children. The whole effort requires innovation that is useful for school and education in general so as to meet the demands of a changing world, not only because of refugee crisis.
While children can be easily involved in non-formal education such as games, paintings and excursions, full integration into the formal educational curriculum is not self-evident and automatic, even for families that eventually stay in our country. It is needed language and psycho-social preparation, especially for children that have been outside of an organized framework and an educational program for many years.
Refugee children need to return to the educational curriculum as soon as possible. Syrian refugees may be out of school for between 1 and 5 years. Many international organizations have highlighted the need to ensure that there is no lost generation of refugees and that there are no refugee children who do not go to school.
Therefore, in WELCOMMON, we are concerned not only about the quality of accommodation, nutrition and socio-psychological support of refugees of all ages (so there is no relation to WELCOMMON conditions with those in many hotspots) but also for formal and non-formal education of children and also for adults needing it.
Despite the difficulties and the lack of sufficient resources, we are gradually developing and implementing an integrated strategy for education, training and culture according to the needs of the different groups.
From September 2017, many of the children we host, as part of their integration into the education system, have started attending the lessons of the 35th primary public school, in our neighborhood
Our strategy:
- Public schools enrollment of refugee children according to their age (kindergarten, elementary school, high school). Before starting school, all necessary medical examinations and vaccinations are made, in accordance with Greek law. We believe that attendance is very important, not only for acquiring knowledge and skills, but also for smooth integration of children into our society.
- Despite our limited resources, we are able to involve children in non-formal education and skill development activities, both within the WELCOMMON, with the help of our volunteers and outside, in cooperation with other organizations.
- Empowering parents (who are often alone) to be able to take full care of their children, offering them gradual rehabilitation as well as social and psychological support. This process takes time and more human and financial resources are needed.
It is natural that each of the 6 groups:
(A) children, (b) adolescents, and (c) adults who will be relocated to another country,
(D) children (e) adolescents and (f) adults who will stay in our country, has different needs and an appropriate education and inclusion model needs to be developed.
We are interested in collaborating with organizations outside Welcommon (e.g. language courses in various institutions, visits and collaborations with museums, developing collaborations with European institutions) or in hosting activities in our center (e.g. English courses by ADDMA with British Council volunteers). Of course, the first priority is to include, the ones who want it, in the public education system (schools) or in certified training structures.
However, since solutions are not easy and available when needed for all cases, we are trying to offer innovative educational opportunities also inside Welcommon, on fields that are gaps that cannot be covered by other agencies. Besides, we have enough room for that.
A set of activities is organized for all children based on this objective: language learning, socialization, creative activities, team building, organized framework, environmental awareness, social behavior, hygiene and cleanliness and more.
