Lebanese School Welcomes Syrian Refugees

Muntaha al-Hassan was eight months pregnant when her family fled their home in Idlib, Syria. An airstrike had reduced their house to rubble, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The family fled in a haste.

“We ran for our lives,” says Muntaha, who is now 38. “That’s when we knew we had to leave Syria.”

Muntaha, center, sits with her children in her home in the Bekaa Valley.

Photo by Stefanie Glinski For CRS 

In 2016, they crossed into Lebanon, eventually settling in Deir al-Ahmar, a small farming village surrounded by vineyards in the Bekaa Valley. There, under a canvas tent, Muntaha gave birth to her youngest daughter, Sidra, now 8 years old. Sidra would be the last of Muntaha’s six children.

The first years were a struggle. Back in pre-war Syria, they had stability, but then everything collapsed. In Lebanon, Muntaha and her husband started from scratch. For two years, the family lived in a tent without mattresses or basic furniture. None of the children were able to attend public school in Lebanon and the process to register as a refugee family was difficult.

“My eldest boys had to work as soon as we arrived,” Muntaha says. “They were only 10 and 12, waking at 4 a.m. to pick tobacco leaves in the fields. We had no choice. We needed to rebuild our lives, to buy food, and to save for a proper home.”

Two years later the family moved into a makeshift house—a simple structure with concrete floors and flimsy tarp walls—but it was an improvement.

That’s also when Muntaha discovered the Good Shepherd Sisters’ education center, a Catholic Relief Services supported school in the village.

Run by Sister Rita, a sister originally from southern Lebanon, the center provides education to Syrian children unable to otherwise attend public schools. Today, 210 Syrian children are enrolled, with classes ranging from first through ninth grades, taught by a dedicated team of teachers.

The center is one of the largest buildings in Deir al-Ahmar. There are bright classrooms filled with toys, and a library stocked with books that stretch to the ceiling. While Syrian children are taught here in the morning, the center is also available to Lebanese children whose parents are looking for after-school care. During summers, all students come together for summer camp.

Sidra does her schoolwork in her home in the Bekaa Valley.

Photo by Stefanie Glinksi for CRS

“It’s a perfect opportunity to bring them together, to break stereotypes and build bridges,” Sister Rita says.

“For me, finding the center was a dream come true,” Muntaha says, her eyes filling with tears. “Leaving my home … coming to Lebanon … it’s all been so difficult. I just want my children to be educated. I want them to have a better future,” she says.

Despite the government of Bashar al-Assad being toppled in December 2024, more than a decade of war has left extensive damage to homes and infrastructure, making it very difficult for people like Muntaha to go back home immediately. Her children would lose another academic year as the family starts to rebuild their lives once again in their home country, needing extensive support to do so.

Muntaha, who herself only finished elementary school in Syria, had always hoped for more for her children. She was able to enroll all of them in the Good Shepherd Sisters’ education center—including her eldest, who had previously never been to school.

“Now, what makes me happiest is watching my youngest, my only daughter, go to school,” Muntaha says. “She started in first grade and will be able to complete her education here. She’s my hope for the future.”

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