Syria's refugee children desperately need schooling now

The goal of the project is to give hope to the hopeless in Syria. Christians in Syria are traditionally well educated and value education. Lack of schooling is a major reason why they are currently leaving Syria and fleeing to the West. By providing schooling for their children, we can stop the exodus of Christians that is currently taking place - and ensure that Christians can help rebuild Syria once the civil war is over.

Image: According to the UN, 5 million children in Syria are not getting enough schooling - that's why this project is crucial.

The school system has collapsed

School teachers in the Kurdish areas where many Christians have fled to may not have been paid for a year, so they are not teaching. Instead, they spend their time earning money for their families in other ways.

Image: Christians are well-educated - and parents flee to the West if they can't provide schooling for their children.

Education is particularly important for the Christian minority, who before the outbreak of the civil war were part of the intelligentsia in Syria and shaped Syrian society. Before the civil war, the majority of Christians were not poor but belonged to the upper middle class in Syria. Due to the civil war, Christians have now become poor and their savings are running out.

Children must go to school now - or families will flee

Image: Schooling ensures Christians can stay in Syria and rebuild the country once the civil war is over.

Secular Muslims want Christians to stay

The secular and reasonable Muslims say that the educated Christians are needed in Syria - that they stay and help rebuild the country after the civil war. Otherwise, the country, inspired by Sharia, will degenerate into a spiritually dark and primitive place.

Islamic State makes Syria primitive

Christians are traditionally well-educated and Christians in Syria are needed to positively influence society.

With the introduction of Sharia law by the Islamist rebel groups Al Nusra and Islamic State, large parts of Syria are becoming a primitive society. In the areas controlled by Al Nusra and the Islamic State, women are oppressed to the extreme.

In the Islamic State, all non-Sunni Muslims are killed if they do not convert to Sunni Islam. The only alternative is to pay a high tax in gold. Some elderly and disabled Christians live in the Islamic State because they cannot escape, and they must use their savings to pay a high tax in gold - so they are not killed.

The educated, whether Christian or Muslim, are fleeing these areas. It is crucial that we ensure that Christians can stay and go to school. The parents are educated themselves and value their children's schooling and education.

Children need to go to school now

In our project, children attend school in areas of Syria not controlled by the Islamic State - that is, cities where non-Sunni minorities, such as Christians and Kurds, live.

Image: Schooling gives hope to children and parents.

The cities Afrin, Rajo, Malkia, Hasakah and Qamishle are either fully or partially Kurdish controlled. Here, not only Christian refugee children, but also children of Kurdish background, as well as secular Sunni Muslims who have fled ISIS, attend school. I AleppoIn Aleppo, still under Assad's rule, children can still go to school. In our project, young Christians in Aleppo will be helped to complete higher education. [Fact box - use 5d map - preferably quite large - and remove the city in Iraq (Kalak) and the English text on the map]

The timing is just right for this project. At a time like this, when hopelessness is rising and the school year is coming to an end, parents have to decide if they want to stay in Syria for another year. Thank you for helping Christians stay in Syria - and equipping them to rebuild the country once the civil war is over.

It only costs 438 DKK to ensure a child in Syria goes to school or a young person gets an education.