An Arabic language Christian satellite television channel teaching young children core curriculum subjects, such as Arabic, English and Math is giving hope to refugee children fleeing Syria. But, SAT-7, which was created in 1995, is doing a lot more than just teaching kids school subjects. Rita El Mounayer, the chief channels and communications officer at SAT-7, says they are providing children and families with hope for the future amid the humanitarian crisis. El Mounayer, who grew up during Lebanon’s civil war, told the Christian Post:
It’s a catastrophe, and I don’t think there’s a solution coming in the next few years. There are millions of refugees who have lost hope with their governments, lost hope with their countries, with their neighbor, and even lost hope with God. The majority of the people in this conflict are innocent. These people are the poorest of the poor in their home countries. They come to Lebanon or Jordan or Turkey, and they cannot afford to rent an apartment, so they end up in camps.
The SAT-7 chief channels and communications officer explained that the Lebanese government has attempted to bring education to 450,000 refugee children younger than 12 who are living at the camps, but for various reasons, at least half of them have no real chance at going to school.
While the local church has also been helping by opening community tents for basic education, SAT-7 saw another opportunity to bring education to the kids through the families’ TV and satellite dish that—despite the often meager surroundings—almost every family tent has. Now, the satellite channel offers on-air education to children in core curriculum subjects, alongside messages of love, forgiveness and reconciliation.
