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Teacher workshop means hope for IDP children

03 Oct 2007 19:56:25 GMT
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)

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Five and six year-olds delight in their new classroom experience. World Vision provided the children with backpacks filled with school supplies.
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

More than 500 children from displaced communities across Ingushetia and North Ossetia will be assisted in the next year by 10 trainers after a World Vision workshop last week on teaching vital skills for success in their host culture.

Children will learn basic hygiene, social skills, street safety, child rights and conflict resolution. Many of them will also attend the preschool classes where they will learn to read, write and count in Russian and acclimatise to learning in a classroom environment.

The World Vision project helps children born into displacement due to conflicts across the North Caucasus. It is in partnership with Ministry of Education with funding from the United States Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

The mood was ebullient at a preschool class Tuesday, 2 October, in the community of Nesterovskaya, approximately 90 minutes drive west of Chechnya's capital, Grozny. There, 25 children who speak their native languages will learn Russian through structured games and lessons. The goal is to prepare them for formal classes next year.

Rosa Archxoeva, one of four teachers selected with the Ministry of Education of Ingushetia to establish preschool classes, had redesigned her classroom in School No. 3 in Nesterovskaya in preparation for the 25 youngsters.

She will use her new skills and contents of a teaching packet from the workshop, which included teaching aids, basic supplies and biscuits for her students. The children received backpacks filled with school supplies (notebooks, albums, pencils, colored pencils, rulers), provided by World Vision. The children are 5 and 6 years old.

With the partnership of the World Food Programme, the school will provide warm midday meals. Parents agreed to take turns helping organize the meals and pledged to reinforce the lessons at home. The first parents' meeting takes place later this month to identify one parent as a teaching assistant to help and learn from Rosa in the classroom.

Parents noted their children also benefit from the World Vision Mobile Health Team and the Playroom programs in the community. School principal Zulekhan Akhilgova pointed out the children in the playground World Vision built this summer.

'Our children have seen nothing but war and its aftermath. Many families have no income and can't provide for their children. Your assistance with schools is a significant support,' said Sveta Khankharoeva, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from Bamut, a village in Chechnya.

'We are all refugees; we lost our homes, our belongings, and have been living here for years. One of my children is an invalid,' she said.

'What a pity that my children didn't have this opportunity,' said Marem Bataeva, an IDP from Northern Ossetia escorting her grandson to the first day of class.

Julietta Kalaeva, another IDP from Chechnya, said: 'After my children started attending, their studies and behaviour improved. They found joy in life. What else is more important for parents? World Vision does a lot for children here. Last year I had to pay 3000 rubles (about US $100 at that time) for one month of pre-school classes for my child'.

On Saturday, 29 September, Rosa attended the World Vision hosted workshop with other selected teachers, psychologists and Child Friendly Spaces instructors. The workshop taught principles of child protection, the World Vision Russian Federation Child Protection Policy and four modules of child safety and protection that can be taught to children ages 5 -12.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Wed Oct 3 20:18:41 2007