ADRA provides 50 teachers with training sessions on using technology as a teaching tool.
On 8 February 2024, Lara Ayash took a 15-minute drive from ADRA Syria’s headquarters in Damascus to monitor a teacher capacity building session at a community center in the suburb of Darayya, home to 135,000 people. This day was the conclusion of a two-week program, which saw a total of 50 teachers from Al Hikmeh School for Girls learn skills on using technology in the classroom. “The teachers loved the training. Almost none had attended such a program and almost none knew how to use a computer,” Ayash said.
Through the Provision and Restoration of Learning Spaces (PEARLS) project, ADRA provides students at Al Hikmeh School for Girls with different services aimed at keeping children in school who are at risk of dropping out. “I think ADRA’s non-formal education program will have a very big impact. We work with parents, children, and teachers all. We don’t give just one service; we give a lot of services. We’ll have a big impact,” Ayash noted.
Darayya was a conflict zone during the conflict, displacing the entire population for years. Once hostilities cooled, residents returned to a city where most houses, markets, schools, and community centers were destroyed. Given the poor economic conditions, many children sacrifice their education to provide income for their families—which for girls in Darayya sometimes takes the form of an early marriage.
“If [the PEARLS project] didn’t exist, I think the girls would be married away because of the economic situation and tradition, which is dangerous. By keeping the girls in school, we protect them,” Ayash said.
Luckily, homes, businesses, and public buildings have gradually been rebuilt. As more and more schools reopen, PEARLS’s teacher capacity training helps equip teachers with the tools they need to teach effectively.
“In Syria we need more computers and projectors in school,” Ayash said—and computer technology is indeed coming. Teachers are recognizing the need to know how to work with media, word processors, and other virtual spaces, especially given the massive educational needs in places like Darayya.
