'TIGER Girls`getting young Syrian refugee women back to school

  • 7 years ago
A program named TIGER Girls is working hard in an attempt to change the situation at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Harsh living conditions and social stereotypes in the camp have driven many displaced Syrian teenage girls out of school and into premature marriage. The programme is trying to get them back in the classroom.

“Some parents say they fled from war, and it is a time for marriage, not school for their daughters — it is better to have family and children. ‘TIGER Girls’ can fix the problem, and let the girls realize that it is necessary to continue their study at school,” says Tiger Girls coach Nour Abu Khatoub.

Nour is one of 12 trained Syrian coaches hoping to get these firls reading again, and by employing the latest technology such as tablets and a multimedia open-source library. Each coach takes ona class of 12 girls.

With a population in excess of 80,000 people Camp Zaatari clearly needs more teachers, but then, it needs more of everything.