It has been meaningful these past three years to be part
of the New Horizons Center, a
partnership in the South of Lebanon serving Bedouin and Gypsy communities. Kids Alive runs a small literacy program that
is helping children become the first literate individuals in their families’
histories. It’s a great opportunity but
with it are many challenges.
One major challenge this year has been the lack of
commitment in attendance. The
communities we serve are rather transient; education is under-prioritized and
the children do not often receive adequate encouragement to faithfully attend class. The high rate of absenteeism was a
frustration to us serving and a hindrance to individual learning progress. It is indeed a big problem, but we are
discovering that addressing it has called for a simple action.
A few months ago we started rewarding students by each
month taking all the children with perfect monthly attendance to a lunch
treat. This simple incentive of sitting
down at a restaurant for a sandwich or hamburger has helped jump-start a
greater care for coming consistently to the program. School absences have decreased, and when they
do happen the student knows that he or she is missing out on the opportunity
for something special. The children are
now building a habit of attending school faithfully; the thrill of eating-out
is becoming less and the normalcy of regularly attending school is becoming
more. We hope that a commitment to
learning and education is being instilled in these young lives and will be
passed down to a future generation.
