The diligent student is rewarded!

In line with the summer break, our joint project with The Hungarian Interchurch Aid was also concluded. The school development project raised education to a new level here at the Refugee Center.

We have been thinking for a long time about how to integrate the young people living here into the education system. Since their basic knowledge, such as writing and reading, is largely missing, they cannot yet integrate into Hungarian educational institutions. This deficiency may be the source of the fact that they spend their whole lives in poverty and in a disadvantaged situation.

The teaching took place over two months in five different groups. Writing instruments, blackboards, notebooks, with which we brought the feeling of school life even closer to the children. Every morning before classes, they were already excitedly waiting for the start. They gathered at the reception, and the group that was the fastest got a smiley sticker on the scoreboard.

"On the first day, 11 of the 58 children showed up, so we wanted to motivate them to come to class on time. After we announced that the group that arrives first will get a sticker, the children got excited and after that they waited for us on time every morning." - Andi, the teacher of the yellow group remembers the beginnings like this.

In addition to the group competition, the diligent students could also earn extra points individually. Active students received thalers at the end of each lesson. In this case, performance and showing up prepared for every lesson mattered. By collecting the thalers, the teachers wanted to encourage the children to study. At the end of the two months of joint work, the collected points could be redeemed for valuable gifts. So it was worth paying attention in class and doing homework, because the more thalers a little student got, the more gifts he could choose from.

At the closing event, the children were completely enthralled, for long minutes they just looked among the gifts before they managed to choose the right toy. The five groups arrived separately and the teachers called the children to the table one by one. While it was one group's turn, the other little ones peered through the window to see what reward awaited them for two months of hard work.

The selection was mixed so that both boys and girls could find the ideal gift for them. Lego, Barbie dolls, skill development cards, but also a soccer ball and a set of feather rackets were placed on the table.

Marika chose a beading set for herself. She proudly showed what she got and was already planning what she was going to make from the colorful beads. Another little boy, Roland, was trying out his chosen toy in front of the reception. He is more interested in electronic devices, so he chose a bluetooth game controller that can be connected to the phone.

Since a student could choose two gifts, many thought of their brother or sister as well. Several people mentioned that I would bring this home to my sister and brother. The workers of The Hungarian Interchurch Aid thought of those who were too young for school and were left out of the gift distribution and set up a bouncy castle for them. They also wanted to make this day a little memorable for the little ones.

Our joint project has been completed, but the teaching is far from over. Thanks to the two-month school catch-up program of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid , the teachers successfully assessed the knowledge level of each child. Knowing this, we can continue our School to success program starting in September with a perfect foundation.