Sahir*, 10, fled Syria with his two sisters and parents after enduring seemingly endless violence and attacks. Though they now live in relative safety in a neighboring country, the family struggles to make ends meet, and the young children were left traumatized by the violence and fear they’d experienced.

In the middle east, one Nazarene ministry helps Syrian refugee children who have missed months or years of schooling. Like Sahir, many of those children are also coping with trauma. The Nazarene Syrian Transitional Education Program, or STEP, helps fill in the gaps to bring children up to grade level, but they also provide emotional support to children who have experienced terrible things.

When they first arrived, Sahir was 5 years old and joined an official school as a kindergarten student. His progress was slow, though; his parents were unable to help him with his schoolwork, and he was not receiving enough individualized support. When his mother enrolled him in STEP’s morning program, Sahir began to thrive. After just three months of receiving educational support at STEP, Sahir’s mother noticed huge progress in his academics. He participates well in class and shows enthusiasm. He enjoys mathematics and he is learning English quickly. The program director says she expects that he will cover two grades’ worth of schooling in one year. Sahir attends STEP in the mornings and goes to the official school in the afternoons.

STEP helps children study English, Arabic, math, and science as well as providing school supplies, textbooks, and hot meals. The staff is also equipped to provide referrals to other organizations for specialized needs the children or their families might have, including trauma-related services. A child is able to graduate from the program when they have caught up to grade level and are able to pass the English entrance exam for public schools in their new home country. For these children, who have been exposed to conflict, poverty, and forced displacement, STEP provides a nurturing environment to learn and grow.

Most importantly, though, Sahir has been healing from the trauma and displacement he has experienced. He is happier and more confident now. Both of Sahir’s parents work hard to make ends meet and are eager to provide education to their children. His mother has also asked about enrolling her two daughters in STEP now. She would like them to experience the same kind of progress that Sahir has experienced.

Sahir’s mother shared with the program director that Sahir “wakes up very early in the morning, even before I wake up, and prepares himself to come to your educational program. He really enjoys it.”

*Name is changed for protection.