The story of Nader
A widower who found a way to reconnect with his children
Life hasn’t been the same since Nader’s wife passed away a few years ago. Having to cope with his newfound reality has been a challenge, the toughest he has ever faced, by his own admission: “It’s hard, I can tell you that; especially when raising two young boys. When you are at that age, you need your mother”, he says.
Nader’s two children, Abdalraheem and Abdulrahman, attend the CBECE “I Learn From Home” program, provided by Seenaryo سيناريو Organization, which allows caregivers of three to six year-olds to implement play-based learning at home. Nader, who does not have a fixed job but rather works as an on-demand construction worker, dropped out of school at grade 11 to support his family, and never completed his education.
Ever since the COVID19 outbreak, and due to the closure of all educational centers at the Beddawi camp where he resides and shares his small house with a friend, he has had to stop working altogether to look after his boys. He has never really been involved in their learning, but as the lockdown came into effect and he started spending more time at home, he began tutoring his kids and helping them complete their lessons. Something which he never thought he would do, but which he enjoyed immensely.
He came to realize that the program was actually helping him improve his communication with his children, as all three of them were enjoying each other and spending much-needed quality time together. So he decided to plan for extra lessons with his boys. “We had so much fun together, I thought to myself, I want more!”
He reached out to the center coordinator for support and managed to plan two to three extra lessons a week. He is now a full time caregiver and dedicates almost his entire day to educating them. He encourages all fathers to follow in his footsteps and do the same.
“It has been a very difficult journey to be honest, but extremely rewarding. I now know that I am capable of looking after my children and providing them with the best education they need.”
‘Back to the Future’ project is funded by the European Union, through the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU Madad Fund, and run in partnership by AVSI Middle East , War Child Holland in Lebanon , and Terre des Hommes Italy in Lebanon.