Damaged School Reopens with Support of SOS Syria

The war in Syria has significantly affected children’s access to education. According to the Ministry of Education, 70 per cent of the educational facilities in Aleppo have been damaged or destroyed, and about 550 schools in Aleppo have had to close.

Al Thawra Banin school was established in 1964 in Eastern Aleppo but due to the heavy attacks on the city in 2014 the school was severely damaged. Around 85 per cent of the school was damaged and the building was unsafe for children to attend.

SOS Children’s Villages Syria, believing in education as a fundamental right for the world’s children and as a powerful means to transform societies, decided to rebuild the Al Thawra Banin school. In August 2017, the rebuilding process began.

In July 2018, the school’s reconstruction was finished and it was ready to welcome children again. It now has the capacity to provide education to 1,800 students during the morning and evening. The rebuilt school contains 19 classrooms and five staff rooms, 24 newly restored rooms in total.

Al Thawra Banin school was officially inaugurated in August 2018, with the presence of Ms. Daaboul, President of SOS Children’s Villages Syria, representatives of the Ministry of Education and the Mayor of Aleppo.  

“I have been directing this school for eight years,” said Hassan Al Sharif, Al Thawra School Director. “My happiness is indescribable! Students now will come back and we will all work together to discharge any negative emotions they had during the years of war. We will teach them that education makes us prosper, as future society-builders and developers. I never lost hope and I was right. SOS had a great impact on the whole neighbourhood, not only the school! This place is alive again, and so is the school!” said Hassan Al Sharif.

This September, the Al Thawra Banin school reopened its doors for children. “My brother and I were waiting for this school for so long. He always told me about it, and I have always hoped that it would be my school in the future,” said Farah, a third-grade student.

Thanks to SOS Children’s Villages and other organizations, a number of schools in Aleppo have been rebuilt.  For the thousands of displaced families and those returning home, the school is a reminder of their children’s right to education. The repaired school encourages young people to be ambitious and hopeful for a better tomorrow.