In recent months, SPaCE has started to support a small project in Al Zawaida, north of Khan Yunis. This has been a real success and offered comfort to children and parents alike. Here are two short stories from the project.
Our five-year-old daughter, Eileen
This young child was permanently isolated and did not participate in anything with her peers due to different circumstances and the surrounding environment.
The project implemented play-based learning using modern learning strategies and educational games, supporting and encouraging her verbally. She became able to hold a pencil and write, and tell me what the game and lesson of the day were with enthusiasm and joy, unlike before.
The girl’s sister said she now gets ready for school early and with great joy, unlike what she was before when she was afraid to go out and face the outside world.
Eileen Adwidar, five years old, Let’s Play and Learn initiative
A glimmer of hope
Learning difficulties can be a major challenge for children and their families, but many children have been able to overcome these difficulties and achieve academic and personal success thanks to the continued support of their families and teachers.
This story presents the experience of twins Muhammad and Ibrahim Salama and their challenge of difficulty learning mathematics (dyscalculia). The twins are 8 years old and in year two at the Let’s Play and Learn Initiative in the Al-Zawaida area, where they found it difficult to understand basic concepts such as addition and subtraction, which affected their self-confidence and made them avoid mathematics. The teacher noticed this and contacted the parents to find out the reasons for the problem. The parents’ response was that the two twins had suffered in their childhood when the mother had a premature birth at the beginning of the seventh month, so the twins were born premature and were incubated for two months. During their childhood, they suffered from speech problems, which made the matter more difficult.
When the war came, especially because the twins didn’t go to nursery or attend any educational stage, the family home destroyed, their suffering doubled, all of that had affected their ability to concentrate and pay attention.
After studying their case, their teacher decided to intervene to help them understand arithmetic operations, using active learning methods, integrating and involving them in activities, and using visual and tangible educational tools that help them see numbers and concepts in a tangible way. Also, using the method of continuous motivation and providing a reward for every progress they make, which made them feel a sense of accomplishment. With time and perseverance, the twins were able to overcome their fear of mathematics, and they began to achieve remarkable success in this subject.
Regarding the opinion of their mother about the progress they had made, the mother expressed her gratitude to the Initiative management and to the teachers for overcoming these difficulties through patience and fruitful intervention to make her children to make them achieve this result.
This success story shows that children with learning difficulties can achieve success if they receive the right support, early intervention, and innovative educational strategies that can help them overcome challenges the face.