"B" is a 16-year old girl who belongs to an internally displaced family coming from Hajar Aswad area and currently living in Al- Qadam area. Her family consists of her father who does not have a stable job, her mother (a house wife), her elder sister (a 19- year old) and her special needs brother.
The girl used to be fearful of the idea of being part of social activities and communicating with others. The team attached to the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) successfully convinced the girl to come back to Dahab Community Center and join the informal educational program (IFE). The girl showed repeated aggressive behavior and seemed introverted.
Her reactions were nervous and violent; she used to be short-tempered and often left the activity she was involved in.
During the ice- breaking activities in the first session of the IFE, the girl said that she hated school and teachers.
Teachers had made fun of her capabilities, which adversely affected her self-esteem and doubled her hate for mathematics, which later became her dilemma subject.
The intervention plan prepared by SSSD team included two main aspects.
The first aspect revolved educational activities covering diversified topics, namely, no to sarcasm, accept me the way I am, Myself vs. difficulties, seeking education secures the future, my trust is the source of my happiness, studying the interactive book of numbers, and studying the mental calculation series (addition, subtraction, multiplication).
The second aspect revolved referring her to the psychosocial support program, at which she received support about anger management techniques and ways of handling short-temper, and learned how to replace them with positive behavioral reactions that suit the situation. The topics the tailored program covered were: non-violent communication, dialogue, proper expression of feelings. Further, the child was trained on focusing on her strength and ways of overcoming her fear.
The team also helped out the girl in building up her self-esteem, accepting herself, and increasing her self-confidence by activating the role of her supportive social network.
The girl was happy to talk about her radical change, "I no longer get irritated and sad any more. I do not feel scared if someone is mad at me." She added, "I used to cry if someone asks me to add two numbers. Thanks to you I really like mathematics and I learnt how to add numbers without fear and tears."
The mother confirmed, "My daughter has really changed: her short temperament is less, she is excited to carry on with her education. Like the center's name suggest, you are all about gold (Dahab)."
One of her peers said, "B has changed the way she deals with us. She talks to us and plays with us. She no longer gets mad at us."
The girl decided to sit for the ninth grade national exam and our team will support her in this courageous step to ensure she successfully passes this educational stop.
The girl revealed, "I made giant strides thanks to you. I will never ever forget this. I hope I would be given the chance to actively spread the word about my progress in front of the community