Zeltschule e.V.

“We cannot just sit and watch an entire generation of Syrian children descend into illiteracy and lose their chance at an independent future after the war.“

Jaqueline Flory, Founder

Around 200.000 Syrian children are living in refugee camps in Lebanon, without a chance of attending school. Instead of learning how to read and write, many have to work in the fields for many hours of the day. According to UNHCR, at least 27,825 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon were affected by child labor in 2021. To address this harmful situation Munich-born Jaqueline Flory partnered with the teachers and parents of Tumblinger Elementary School and founded the organization Zeltschule e.V. („Tent School“ ) in 2016.

The motivating idea is as simple as it is captivating: The girls and boys are to be taught by teachers from the refugee community in basic tent schools right inside of the camps. And in order to make up for the loss in labor force, the organization supports the parents with food and water. Today, more than 10.000 children are receiving lessons in 39 such tent schools every day and 40.000 people are provided with everything that’s necessary to survive.

We were immediately impressed by this initiative and decided to build the Phoenix Tent School in one of the refugee camps in the Bekaa-Valley, and finance it on a long-term basis. On July 15th 2017 ‘our’ school opened its doors. 457 children come to class every day.

The initial construction costs amounted to about 8000 Euros. This included the foundation, wood, tarps, as well as the initial equipment such as furniture, carpets, and heating. In order to fund the school for one year – including schooling materials, wages for the teachers, water and food for the families and general maintainance – we need additional 40.400 Euros.

„A school means that life comes back to us, that we can have hope for a better future for our children.
It is a silver lining at the horizon.” (Yehya Alfaress, math and physics teacher from Holms)

Since spring 2021, we have also been supporting the IndePENdent-Girl program to help girls and young women from Syria. This means that we will extend our support for all girls from the Phoenix School after their graduation and give them the opportunity to go to a secondary (Lebanese) school or to undergo vocational training, thus giving them an urgently needed perspective for the future. The latter are mainly carried out within the tent schools, in the many different businesses that have been set up in the camps.

In concrete terms, of the 65 girls currently at the Phoenix School

32 girls go to secondary schools
10 girls trained in our tent school Women’s Workshops
15 girls apprentice in our bakery, soup kitchen and with the nurses and midwives of the women’s clinic
8 girls doing manual training with our construction and maintenance group.

The girls are picked up every day by a “school bus”, which takes them to the secondary private school, to the bakery, to the soup kitchen, to the Camel Camp for the women’s consultation or to any camp where a new school is being built or something needs to be repaired.

Refugee girls and young women suffer particular hardship. After finishing school, they are almost always faced with the choice between a marriage or field work. Yet all they wish for is an independent, fulfilled and peaceful life – just like the rest of us.

“Sometimes we are sitting in class and someone tells something funny and we all laugh out loud.
Then, for a moment, it’s as if everything is normal, as if we are school children like anywhere else
in the world, who can become anything and do anything.” (Qamar from the Phoenix School)

Support for a girl costs an average of 96 € a year. Help us to give these strong, intelligent and inspiring girls an invincible (“invicta”) perspective in life and to create a better future in solidarity with them.

You will find more information about the tent schools on www.zeltschule.de.

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