United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres paid a visit to one of Blumont’s community center libraries, where he met female students involved in the TIGER reading program.
On March 28, Mr. Guterres toured the Za’atari refugee camp and was welcomed to the library of Community Center 7 by Blumont project officer Mais Abdelhaleem and a number of girls participating in the These Inspiring Girls Enjoy Reading (TIGER) program. Some of the girls were reading books from the library and others were using their tablets to access the TIGER basic e-learning library. Guterres and the girls discussed TIGER activities, how the girls benefit from the program, and their ambitions for the future.
Through its 22 community facilities within Za’atari, Blumont offers a variety of services to Syrian refugees, including post-basic education, skill building, recreation and sports programs as well as the TIGER program, which focuses on adolescent girls.
TIGER is a community-based initiative that aims to strengthen adolescent girls’ sense of agency, meaning, and connection to the community, with a focus on education. This is a response to issues that arose because of the Syrian crisis, like increased female drop-out rates and cultural pressure to marry early.
The initiative aims to empower adolescent girls ages 12-17 to complete high school and pursue their future goals and dreams, and to act as role models for other girls in their community. The girls enjoy virtual access to numerous educational resources covering Arabic, English, science and math, as they develop their basic knowledge, critical skills and meaningful relations with the community.
The program also offers training for female coaches to enable them to manage girls’ teams successfully and offer girls the support they need. The program currently has 132 girls and 12 female coaches in five (5) Districts.
During 2016, the program was successful in helping girls return to school and had a positive impact on their progress in school. With the support of UNHCR, Blumont is aiming to scale the program to reach a larger number of girls throughout 2017.
The participants explained to Secretary-General Guterres that they get more support at TIGER than they get anywhere else, including at school. They also outlined the activities they do in the program, the work they do on community projects, and the support they get from the coaches in boosting their confidence and courage.
Mr. Guterres ended the discussion by urging the girls to stay in school, explained how their future contributions in all areas (including government, municipalities, and decision making roles) will be important to rebuild Syria, and wished them good luck.
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