Teaching Christians For Life

We were obliged to leave Iraq because of the severe war and personal attacks on our family ... We were introduced to this [Christian] school since arrival in Syria and we love it since we feel we are at home. We feel happy and play normally with all the other local students without feeling strangers. We love our school; we love our teachers as if we are among our family. At this school they teach us prayers and songs and hymns and we love them all, apart from mathematics which is very difficult, and we do our best to learn.

I have been to another school but I recently transferred to this [Christian] school because they don’t accuse me of being an Iraqi student ... I am happy with my classmates and others, playing a lot of games together. I don’t fear my friends here, they are so good to me. No one pushes me down or says bad words ... I have no enemies here, like the other school.

I prefer to go to a Christian school to hear the Bible stories and have the Bible thoughts. So I don’t want to go to any other school which will not teach me about Jesus.

I am going to a Christian school because they are polite students and all the teachers treat me with respect and don’t beat me or shout.

Why Christians long for Christian schools

The Iraqi Christian youngsters in Syria are fortunate because they are able to attend private Christian schools, with help from Barnabas Fund. But many Christian children in other faith contexts have no option but to attend the free or very cheap government schools. This can be a very hard experience if their teachers and classmates are contemptuous of or hostile to Christians. In places such as Egypt or Pakistan, Christian pupils may be marked down in exams or even failed, simply because they are Christians.

The Christian children also have to cope with an education that may have a major focus on learning Islam while it mocks and caricatures Christianity. It is easy to

understand why an education for their children in a Christian environment is often the foremost desire of many Christian parents living as minorities in other-faith contexts.