By Kouthar Sambo

The academic opening of the Aman School of Excellence in Lebanon took place today as the African Muslim Agency (AMA) conducted a live link-up from their offices in Belgravia, Cape Town.

Various AMA attendees and stakeholders attended the opening and delivered speeches, with the likes of AMA’s Director Imraan Choonara, who addressed the crowd on the importance of walking the talk when it comes to demonstrating genuine care for the vulnerable refugee children in Lebanon.

Aman and Orphan Hope Coordinator Safeeya Mahomed said these kids live in awful conditions in the refugee camps, but their dignity is restored once they are placed in a school.

“Today’s event was about the importance of educating refugee children in Lebanon, specifically Syrian and Palestinian children at the Aman School of Excellence. The school is in its third year, and it has had a massive impact on the lives of the kids holistically, mentally, and psycho-socially,” explained Mahomed.

The education received by these children is not just a “by the way education” said Mahomed, it is a private education.

“They have access to psycho-social sport and robotics classes, they learn coding, and they engage in extracurricular activities and an intense summer school program. These children also have access to the best educators Lebanon can offer,” explained Mahomed.

“Potential donors/sponsors are welcome to visit our offices in Belgravia in Cape Town, Joahnnesberg and Durban. Feel free to email us at aman@africanmuslimsagency.co.za, or they can contact us on 078 653 9927. The annual fee for the Aman school in Lebonon is R19, 200 and this includes access to everything such as stationary, school shoes, books, bags and school transport,” said Mahomed.

Adminstrative for AMA Iddrisa Ebrahim said that these children are refugees by their very nature since they have escaped war.

“They live in very bad conditions and circumstances so when someone sponsors a child for better education, it is a life-changing opportunity for these children to gain an education. Hopefully, they can go back to their country to rebuild where they left off,” elaborated Ebrahim.

Ebrahim went on to explain the dynamic of sponsor versus learner and how relations can be maintained between the parties.

“When a donor makes a full contribution, we allocate a profile of a child that has been profiled to attend this school. That profile will be sent to the donor, as well as updates on the child’s performance and progress. At the end of the academic year, they will get full feedback,” explained Ebrahim.

Orthodontist Dr. Vincent Joseph said he became affiliated with AMA as AMA’s Director Imraan Choonara was a patient of his.

“We were doing cleft lip and palate work for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and Imraan came on board to assist financially with flights and surgeons,” said the doctor.

“At that time, we saw the need for making arms for people who have lost limbs as many of these people came from conflicted areas such as Syria and Palestine. Together we developed a robotic arm which is now in the process of manufacturing. We then find recipients in Lebonon and document them,” added the doctor.

He went on to say that a robotics laboratory setup is in place at Aman School of Excellence. According to the doctor, coding and robotics are becoming big in South Africa, and they want to introduce this at the school in Lebanon as well.

Volunteer at AMA Dr. Nizam Biscomb had been working in close collaboration with Dr. Joseph on the robotics project. Speaking to VOC news, he described the project as “amazing” since it has made great strides.
He further went on to explain what he witnessed in the refugee camps in Lebanon since this experience was a “life changer” for him.

“These people had established homes in their countries, and they fled, and they were already traumatised by the war, trying to make a life for themselves,” added Biscomb.

Photo: VOCfm