Learning Still Has a Home

In Syria, education has had its constant struggles. More than 2.45 million children are out of school, and over 1 million more are at risk of dropping out, as families navigate displacement, poverty, and repeated disruptions. At the same time, thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving learning spaces strained or unsafe, and making the simple act of going to class feel uncertain. 

In many communities in Syria, those realities show up not only in destroyed school but in the details, people often overlook, a toilet that does not work, a door that will not close, a desk that wobbles under a child’s notebook, a water tap that runs dry. When these basics fail, school stops feeling like a doorway to the future, and starts feeling like another struggle to endure.

Fadi*, a 56-year-old father raising a family of ten, describes the weight of everyday life plainly. “We face several problems. The living situation, water scarcity, unpaved roads, electricity. There are rarely any projects for people to work in, and no to little interventions from humanitarian organizations”, he shares.

When he talked about the school his children are enrolled in, his words spoke of a harsh reality. “The school’s condition was poor,” he explains, pointing to sanitation facilities, the ruined classroom desks, walls and doors. “The school needed essentials many take for granted, an electrical cable, basic furniture, infrastructure, diesel and heater and removing the debris from the school.”, he continues.

Then, slowly, the page began to turn. Through World Vision’s education project, schools in Rural Damascus were targeted for rehabilitation, and Fadi’s children’s school was among the 45 schools supported. He first heard about the support through the school administration, and for the first time in a while, hope didn’t feel like a distant concept. “I thought, finally someone saw our struggle,” he says.

The rehabilitation addressed visible gaps, through the dedicated work of the WV team, classrooms were painted, desks and boards repaired, sanitation facilities rehabilitated, and the school’s water network restored. Cleaning items and stationery were also provided to support a healthier learning environment and help children stay equipped for their lessons. 

But Fadi’s role didn’t stop at being a participant’s caregiver, Fadi was invited to become a member of World Vision’s rehabilitation sustainability committee. “We hold monthly and quarterly meetings to discuss school needs and implement a sustainability and maintenance plan,” he shares. For him, these meetings aren’t paperwork, they are stitches that help keep the school from unravelling again. “As a committee, we follow up on the sanitation facilities, we do periodic visits, and through initiatives and awareness campaigns, we teach our children to preserve the school. ”

Even in his own home, the shift is also tangible. “My children became more willing to study and committed to attending school, they also greatly benefited from the stationery and used it for their schoolwork on the daily, its truly a relief”, shares Fadi happily.

He ends with gratitude and a message that feels like both thanks and a promise. “The community will keep showing up, meeting after meeting, visit after visit, because a rehabilitated school is more than repaired walls. It is a place where children can return to education, find hope, and build a future, and where a community can say, even after so much crisis, learning still has a home”.

Through the project, over 32,000 people benefited from the school rehabilitation, committees and the protection activities provided across 45 schools.

And this is not where the story ends, our commitment in Syria will continue, so schools don’t just reopen for a season, but remain steady spaces where children can keep learning, keep hoping, and keep moving forward.

*Name has been changed to protect identity