In Jerash Camp, Makani Helps Children Find Their Voice

Sabah was the kind of child who stayed in her room.

She wouldn't talk to strangers. She wouldn't approach other children. At twelve, she can describe it clearly now, the shyness that felt like a wall between her and the rest of the world. But she can also pinpoint when things began to change. It was the day she played LEGO and musical chairs with other children at the Makani centre in Jerash camp, in norther Jordan.

"I used to be very shy. I wouldn't talk to anyone I didn't know. I stayed in my room," she says. "But coming here helped me meet new friends and be confident."

Sabah has been attending Makani for the past two years, and is growing up inside this place - through the free activity sessions, the creative workshops, and losing herself in the stories available in the small library in the centre. Reading has become her favourite thing. One book even taught her how to safely meet new people and recognise when something felt wrong. She treasures that lesson, passing versions of it on to her younger siblings at home, teaching them, in her own words, to be kind and to respect others.

At Makani, one of her favourite activities is one where every child reads aloud from a book in turn, one after another. "It doesn't matter if we make mistakes," Sabah explains. "The facilitator encourages us. It makes learning fun." For a girl who once could not bring herself to speak to a stranger, reading aloud in a circle is big change.

Tahrir shares a similar experience.

Back when she started attending the centre, she was afraid of other children, of speaking up, of taking up space. "Before Makani, I was always afraid and didn't talk to anyone," she says. She has the same directness as Sabah when she describes her past sel..

Over the years, the centre has empowered her to build her confidence. The learning support sessions in Arabic and mathematics helped Tahrir feel the difference at school, understanding more, keeping up more easily, feeling less like she is falling behind. 

Tahrir has also learned skills for life at the centre. "No one is allowed to bully us," she says firmly. "Only parents can touch us in appropriate ways. I also learned how to make friends."

Tahrir dreams of becoming a teacher. She was inspired, she says, by the patience and encouragement of the facilitators at Makani.

In Jerash Camp, home to more than 33,000 Palestinian refugees, half of the population live under the poverty line. The Makani centre, thanks to generous support from the Government of Sweden, is supporting some of the most vulnerable children in the camp with integrated services, including learning support, child protection, and skills building.

"My wish for all children," says Sabah, "is that they are safe, can play, go to school, and get healthcare if they are sick. Every child deserves to enjoy their rights."