Schooling for Syrian Refugee Kids
Donation protected
Al Nokhba School was founded by Mr Khaled, a Syrian businessman forced to flee his country for Turkey by the war which has engulfed Syria since 2011. Using money from his businesses he began helping vulnerable Syrian refugee families. He was also concerned for the huge number of children who, through lack of money, were unable to find a place in school. So, in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Mr Khaled created a school for them and named it Al Nokhba – The Elite School.
Al Nokhba has been a life-saver for many refugees, not least in rescuing children from being forced to work – often as the sole breadwinner for their family. The exploitation of child labour is a common practice in Turkey. For most adult refugees, finding work is impossible. Indeed, for those seeking asylum in Turkey it is illegal to work. Unscrupulous employers recruit child labour because they can pay less and force the children to work longer hours. Desperate parents have little choice but to send their children to work. So getting children into school is a means to save them from the terrible abuses of child labour.
Not only that, it helps break the vicious cycle of social exclusion, poverty, criminality, the radicalization of the young people, and – most importantly – the avoidance of child marriage in the case of the girls.
Today, 400 children are being educated at Al Nokhba. It has capacity for 600, but until now there hasn’t been enough money to pay for the additional 200 places. Funding for 120 0f these places will be provided by our partner NGO, One Light Global. And Refugees Aid Barcelona has pledged to raise funding for the remaining 80 places – at a total cost of €16,000 a year. We think it’s vitally important to support these children. One year of schooling costs only €200 – less than €25 for each of the 9 months of classes. It is such a small sum that can make such a huge difference to a child’s life. Will you help us make that difference?
Al Nokhba has been a life-saver for many refugees, not least in rescuing children from being forced to work – often as the sole breadwinner for their family. The exploitation of child labour is a common practice in Turkey. For most adult refugees, finding work is impossible. Indeed, for those seeking asylum in Turkey it is illegal to work. Unscrupulous employers recruit child labour because they can pay less and force the children to work longer hours. Desperate parents have little choice but to send their children to work. So getting children into school is a means to save them from the terrible abuses of child labour.
Not only that, it helps break the vicious cycle of social exclusion, poverty, criminality, the radicalization of the young people, and – most importantly – the avoidance of child marriage in the case of the girls.
Today, 400 children are being educated at Al Nokhba. It has capacity for 600, but until now there hasn’t been enough money to pay for the additional 200 places. Funding for 120 0f these places will be provided by our partner NGO, One Light Global. And Refugees Aid Barcelona has pledged to raise funding for the remaining 80 places – at a total cost of €16,000 a year. We think it’s vitally important to support these children. One year of schooling costs only €200 – less than €25 for each of the 9 months of classes. It is such a small sum that can make such a huge difference to a child’s life. Will you help us make that difference?
Organizer
Nadine Astorga
Organizer
Sant Cebrià de Vallalta
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