Roots for Refugees - Popup Dinner

Last March, our team of five had the opportunity to visit Jordan as a part of an undergraduate course at Champlain College. While we loved watching sunrises in the Wadi Rum, visiting mosques in Amman, and exploring the ancient ruins scattered across the country, the most impactful part of our trip was visiting the Azraq Education Center.

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Based in Azraq, a tiny town on the outskirts of Jordan, the Azraq education center provides life changing education and services to Syrian refugee children who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict. From the moment we stepped foot on their beautiful campus, the students flocked around us, wanting to show their state of the art classrooms and shaded play structures. We spent much longer than anticipated that day laughing with the kids and listening to the center’s staff enthusiastically describe the various programs and services they are able to provide for their community.

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The center’s goal is to compensate for their students' lack of education and provide them skills to enable them to graduate, find jobs, and establish roots in Jordan. They are constantly innovating through a number of ways to achieve this goal. Some examples are:

Their certified Montessori preschool.

Their development of a hydroponic agriculture system to provide their own food.

Exchange programs with schools in the U.S. and other countries.

Coding programs.

Art therapy programs.

Hearing aides and physical therapy for students who have been injured during the war.

Test prep to enable their students to go to universities in Jordan.

Primarily hiring from the community they serve.

Providing food for their students’ families and the greater community.

Free medical consultations from visiting doctors.

100% solar powered and recently renovated, state of the art campus with air conditioning.

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In addition to being the first site of education available for refugee children, the Azraq center has become an economic engine for this small town, providing jobs and stimulating the local economy.

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Perhaps most importantly however, is the first thing we noticed about the center: just how happy and full of joy their students are. These kids who have been forced to flee their homes and have experienced all of the trauma that fleeing from conflict induces, have been given an opportunity to be children once again. They have a space to run, play, and enjoy themselves.

Knowing how to operate a computer is increasingly becoming a requisite skill for jobs in Jordan. To enable their students to work in these fields, the center is focusing on creating a robust computer education program. The funds raised from this popup dinner will be used to help buy computers for them to learn on.

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$25 suggested donation

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Common Roots Homestead

1100 Dorset St South Burlington, VT 05403

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