Protected: GHINWA*, 13 BEIRUT, LEBANON

Before discovering the Save the Children supported education centre in the camp where she lives, Ghinwa* felt her life had no possibilities: “I couldn’t read or write, I had no hope for my future, I had no dreams” she says. But now, not only is she literate, but has self-believe: “If I study and focus hard, I can achieve anything I want.”

Ghinwa*, now 13, and her family fled the war in Syria when she was just five-years-old and settled in a Palestinian camp in Beirut. Since then, life has been extremely hard for all of them. With her dad unable to work due to a stroke, Ghinwa* has to try to help bring in money – so she sells water and tissues to drivers at a busy crossroads outside the camp. Aware of the negative impact of this on her wellbeing, she adds: “Working makes me feel that I am very poor and always in need… like I am so different to other people (kids) who don’t work.”

Ghinwa* wasn’t able to start school until aged 10, and so naturally struggled to keep up with her peers -and when the economic crisis hit bringing electricity cuts and teachers’ strikes, she stopped attending school altogether.

The silver-lining came shortly before Covid hit, when a friend told Ghinwa about the STC supported education centre. She began attending, online during lockdown but more recently in person. There she has learnt to read and write, grown in confidence, made friends, and become informed about her rights, eager to speak up on behalf of all child refugees.

Life is still challenging for this young activist but the difference is she now has education, and therefore a dream: to be a lawyer, defending children’s rights. The impact of the education centre on Ghinwa* cannot be underestimated – “It has changed my whole life” she says.