The Healing Classrooms Challenge: Make Pinwheels to Help Syrian Youth

Imagine you have to run away from your home suddenly because of fighting and bombs being dropped in your neighborhood. You flee so quickly, you have to leave most of your personal belongings behind. Will you ever see your family and friends again? Your home? Your school? And what if your new home is in an unfamiliar country, where people speak a different language?

Since a civil war erupted in March 2011, nearly 11 million Syrians have fled their homes. Four million of them have sought refuge in neighboring countries of Lebanon, Northern Iraq, Jordan and Turkey—and the majority of these displaced Syrians are children. Devastated families have lost loved ones, homes and jobs. But with the right support, children affected by conflict can develop the coping skills they need to bounce back and move forward with their lives. There’s a simple yet powerful way to help make this difference—the Students Rebuild Healing Classrooms Challenge, a partnership between the Bezos Family Foundation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Global Nomads Group.

Young people around the world can assist their Syrian peers by making pinwheels for the Students Rebuild Healing Classrooms Challenge. How does it work? For every pinwheel Students Rebuild receives, the Bezos Family Foundation will donate $2—up to $400,000—to the International Rescue Committee’s Healing Classrooms program. Healing Classrooms trains teachers in special techniques to engage conflict-affected children with social-emotional learning opportunities and to create secure, nurturing learning environments.

Children affected by crisis—whether war or natural disaster—need help restoring a sense of normalcy and safety in their lives. One of the best ways to do this is to reintroduce the familiar routine of school, where teachers can provide structure and stability, and can work with children to heal. IRC partners with schools in crisis zones to create Healing Classrooms—paired with support from parents and the community—so children can recover, grow, develop and learn.

We invite you to take the Healing Classrooms Challenge! Use your creativity and empathy to make pinwheels as you learn about the roots of conflict and discover stories of resilience. Your efforts will help Syrian youth gain the peace and security all children deserve. With every pinwheel you make for the Students Rebuild Healing Classrooms Challenge, you’ll take a stand for children living in conflict and improve their well-being and learning. Even though the Syrian struggle seems overwhelming, we can take action and see change for children. We hope you’ll join us here. A teachers' guide is also available here.

The more pinwheels you send, the more children you’ll help! We launched the Healing Classrooms Challenge on International Day of Peace, September 21, 2015; the Challenge deadline is April 30, 2016.

Students Rebuild has a video that shows how to make pinwheels that you can share with your students.

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