In the last 10 years, thousands of Syrian children have been born in refugee camps in Lebanon. Without legal status, they have no access to formal education, hospitals, or any other public service. It’s estimated that 50% of Syrian children in Lebanon are out of school.

One of the problems is accessibility. Schools are few and far between, since the camps are crowded and lack safe spaces for learning, training, and recreation. However, even children who are offered places at school often can’t attend. Families struggle to pay for transport and expenses, and others need the income provided by working children.

The Tent of Dreams project gives refugee children a free, non-formal, education. It enables them to learn key skills so they’re ready to confidently enrol in school when they have the opportunity.

The project takes away the financial burden from families and encourages children to gain an education.

We want to bring high-quality education to as many Syrian refugee children as possible. We’ll teach them core skills and fund their learning expenses, supporting families and improving their wellbeing. We’re aiming to set up 5 tents with a total of 10 teachers.

This project will help to improve child protection and decrease the rate of child labour, exploitation and abuse in Lebanese refugee camps.

Tent of Dreams will help 150 Syrian refugee children in Akkar, Lebanon.

This year, there will be tents in five different camps; each tent accommodates 30 children aged 4-12.

The pupils are identified and selected using certain criteria, with priority given to those facing exploitation, child marriage or extreme poverty.

We’ve established five tents in Akkar, Lebanon, and equipped each one with educational materials such as bags, curriculum books, pens, rulers, colouring pencils, and notebooks. During the winter, each tent has been provided with gas heaters and fuel.

This project started in December 2022 and all 150 students completed a pre-test in English, Maths and Arabic. At the end of the 9-month learning curriculum, students will complete a post-test, which will allow us to monitor their progress.

The children and their families are very happy and grateful for this opportunity, as many of them have missed going to school and learning.

None yet.

The Tent of Dreams is not just a school. It’s a happy place filled with possibility! Children can catch up on important skills which will help them to build a future – and strive to see their dreams coming true.

Our pupils are less likely to be exploited in child labour; instead they’re attending school and preparing to attend formal education.

At the end of the 9-month learning curriculum, we hope to raise enough funding to renew for another year.

To keep our tents running, we need your help! It costs £180 per year to provide education for one child. Please give what you can so that we can carry on ‘Educating Little Minds for Bigger Futures’.