“Education is a light able to change a child’s life”

Zahra Moradi and Sakineh Rahimi, two women with similar backgrounds met accidentally in Ritsona camp and united to create a better world through education. Zahra and Sakineh were born and raised in Iran from Afghan parents. They lived as migrants with their husbands and children and faced the same challenges.

 “We were facing racism in Iran. Our children weren’t entitled even to basic education. The situation was really bad. The Afghan society in Iran organized classes in abandoned building secretly,” Sakineh admits.

 “Since our children weren’t allowed to get education, me and other ladies were teaching children at home, almost every day. We had created our own schedule and home classes,” Zahra adds.

They both highlight the value of education: “Education is a light able to change a child’s life. This is the way that children are able to support themselves, their families and the society in general.” Education was also the element that brought the women together. They both attended English classes that were taking place in the camp, under the Non – formal education component, as implemented by IOM in partnership with UNICEF and Solidarity Now. They enjoyed learning a new language.

“Learning a new language is like opening a new world. Especially, here in Europe, it is essential to speak English,” says Zahra.

Unfortunately, due to COVID – 19 restrictions and lockdown, the classes stopped. The IOM team on-site supported community volunteer teachers to create their own classes, provided material and organized capacity building training seminars and workshops. Both women volunteered teaching English for beginners to anyone who was interested. It turned out to be a success. In total, 30 people living in the camp are voluntarily teaching English, Farsi, Mathematics, Handcrafts and more than 100 people of all ages are attending the classes.

“We wanted to do something for our children. During the lockdown the kids were playing all day. Mothers in the camp wanted this to change. Our husbands also supported our initiative. Zahra and I have already learned the basic rules and vocabulary of the English language and we thought that it would be a great idea to participate as teachers,” says Sakineh.

“The students loved the classes! During the teaching period, no one has missed any of our classes. We feel happy and content for contributing in our community. The lack of education was among the reasons that we left Iran. We didn’t want the same thing happen here,” says Zahra.

“In collaboration with IOM team, we have created a weekly schedule and we use special spaces to conduct the lessons, always following COVID – 19 protection measures. We believe that education is the way to create a better future for our children and our society.”

IOM operates in Ritsona camp as the official Site Management Support Agency (SMS) with the support of the European Commission – DG HOME, under the project “Supporting the Greek Authorities in Managing the National Reception System for Asylum Seekers and Vulnerable Migrants (SMS)”.