Messengers of Peace school for refugees run by Father Khalil Jaar – Amman, Jordan

The school for refugees run by Father Khalil Jaar was set up to accompany the refugee. Children and their families had to flee from Iraq in 2014 and to wait for a visa to go to other countries. Father Jaar set up this free school for children in 2014. It was when 800 Christian families fled from Iraq to the area of Marka-Hashemi close to the Parish of Marka. In the beginning, most of these refugee families were staying in the parish as they had no other place to stay. But as time passed, Father Jaar was able to find housing for them. He found a way to help provide them with food and medication. Now the community they have built has more than one thousand families depending on the school and the parish for education, food, medical services and moral and psychological support. Unfortunately, many of these Iraqi families cannot get refugee status. They are therefore left without any status in Jordan until they can go back to Iraq.

A school for refugees

The school currently has 300 children attending classes during the week. Although more and more families are coming to the Parish of Marka for assistance every day. The children are given a warm meal for attending school. Their families are given food vouchers to help them buy food for all of the family members.

Most of the children and their families fled from Iraq during the war.and therefore lost many months of schooling. However the school of Father Jaar helps them to catch up to the curriculum to prepare them for entering the schooling system in Europe, Canada or the United States as this is most likely where they will be sent once their refugee status is recognized. The school was set up originally by the Parish to support Iraqi refugee families. But it now also provides for education, food and medical treatment for Syrian refugees and for Jordanian families in need.