Grateful For Safety, But Desperate To Learn

Rhonda Hirst, Emergency Campaign Manager, World Vision Australia

Nasrella is a sweet 10-year-old boy with a kind disposition. He is softly spoken, with a warm smile. He’s shy, but brave. He’s scared, but thankful. He is thankful to live in a tent in the Bekka Valley, as long as it’s far away from the bombs and shelling that was so devastating back home in Syria.

This tented settlement has been "home" for seven months. Since leaving Syria, Nasrella hasn’t been to school. When asked how he spends his days, he responds, "We play… we just play." He has no toys. But he does have three friends and you can tell their bond is tight.

Back home, he had 11 close friends. One of these friends is here with him now. "Only Hussein came with me from Syria... I don’t know where [my other friends] are, I don’t know if they are ok – I don’t know anything about them," he says.

Nasrella is the apple of his mother’s eye. He is the youngest. Back home, in Syria, he had merit awards, which is he is shy to talk about, yet proud of. "They gave me a merit award because I was smart and very good at school," he says humbly. At school, he liked mathematics, specifically algebra. "I miss [school] so much, because I want to learn," he says.

Nasrella's story is all too common. He smiles when he talks of his father, who he misses greatly and who he hasn't heard from since leaving Syria.

Nasrella dreams of being a teacher, "I want to teach little children," he says.

Nasrella would make a great teacher; despite all he has seen, he still has a gentle, kind manner. Unfortunately, teachers need to have an education before they can teach others.

Instead of thinking about what he does not have, Nasrella is grateful for what he does have.  "I feel this place [the tented settlement in Lebanon] is better than the older one [home, in Syria]. We live here in peace. We are away from the clashes.  I wouldn’t change a single thing about this tent," he says.