Archive for April 2020

The learning at Safe Spaces continues, even in these difficult times! Our educators have designed a continuous exchange of worksheets between themselves and the students. Students then take turns coming to the school to review their work and get any further instruction they need.
The students have been thrilled to reconnect with teachers and receive feedback on their work! The worksheets offer them a concrete way to continue to learn and stay engaged. Thanks to the success of the worksheets, we plan to continue this program as long as needed.

In addition, Safe Spaces continues to offer support through grocery delivery. Our team made sure that our families at the Naddaf shelter received groceries in time for Ramadan, so that everyone would have a full table in this holy month.

While we can’t proceed with our education program as usual, our educators have been working to find creative ways to keep our students engaged and learning. The teachers have designed a continuous exchange of worksheets between the students and them to stay on track. The teachers prepared and printed these worksheets including exercises and texts, and distributed them as of Monday to their students in the center. The teachers then formed groups of two to alternate daily visits to the shelter, and assist and supervise the students with their work.

The teachers were pleasantly surprised that students had their worksheets almost complete even before the first visit. The students, excited about getting back to learning, were thrilled to reconnect with teachers and receive feedback on their work. We are thrilled at the success of this short term solution and plans are underway for them to continue. Every week, the teachers will distribute new worksheets, and continue to visit students in the shelter, while of course taking all measures reinforced and encouraged by the ministry of health about necessary social exposure.

Additionally, the Safe Spaces team continues to offer support to our families through grocery delivery. A new batch of nutrition boxes has been prepared and distributed by the Safe Spaces team. Mr. Ghaleb el Charif made sure that this process was finalized before the beginning of Ramadan, and that all families at the Naddaf shelter have a full table in this holy month. With our continued collective efforts, we can create ways to alleviate difficulties and offer support, both general and academic, to our Safe Spaces families. Ramadan Mubarak!

“Martial law in Lebanon has been put in place and people are thankfully respectful of the new laws enforced to ensure everybody’s safety. Henceforth we have been more successful in our path to flatten the curve. However, the situation is still risky & so we are still in quarantine. We have a curfew and rules to limit the movement.

Safe Spaces Lebanon has been staying alert as Mr. Ghaleb el Charif is keeping up with the shelter and the state of the refugees. He is also in constant communication with UNHCR and keeping himself updated with official authorities to be reassured on the future status of schools and the students. He also recently started to prepare for the second batch of boxes to distribute to the families of the Naddaf shelter before Ramadan starts on April 25.”

Thanks to Ghaleb and all who are working to provide for our students and their families! For more information on how the crisis is impacting Lebanon, see the below article:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/08/lebanon-direct-covid-19-assistance-hardest-hit

Alongside the rest of the world, we are ever vigilant about keeping the children, families, staff and faculty safe at our center. As such, we wanted to provide you an update on how they’re doing and what they’re doing in the midst of the pandemic. Please read below for a wonderful update as provided by Lama Charif, our new content writer and graphic designer.

If you are interested in donating to help Safe Spaces Lebanon support these families at this time, please do so online by clicking here.