The sun is shining and we slept well. We have to repack the car before we leave for the airport. The campsite is close to the city of Jerash, site of the well preserved remains of a Roman city which we only see as we pass by.
We arrive at the airport just after 10. Our car is considered an airport hazard with the gas bottle and diesel-filled jerry cans and there is no way that we can enter the premises unless we unload everything! I decide to stay in the car with Sammie, outside the airport gate and the police officer finds someone who will take Willie to the airport building. He is back ½ hour later with Hugo, Andrej and their backpacks! It is wonderful to see them and I realize how much I’ve missed them. Hugo has a horrible cough and does not feel well at all. They went to Istanbul with Andrej coughing and they come back with Hugo coughing!
They had a wonderful time in Istanbul. We are thankful to Gabe and his roommates for their hospitality, friendliness and kindness to the boys.
Our campsite is Amman is at an interesting place: The Theodore Schneller Schule. We arrive just before 12 and receive a very friendly welcome. Yes, we can camp in the parking lot and we are welcome to join the church service which will start at 12. Hugo took some medication and went to bed whilst Willie, Andrej and I went to church. We did not understand a word, but it was soothing to sit in the peaceful surroundings, and listen to the songs in Arabic, all with familiar melodies – songs that we also sing in Afrikaans, English, German…
We arrive at the airport just after 10. Our car is considered an airport hazard with the gas bottle and diesel-filled jerry cans and there is no way that we can enter the premises unless we unload everything! I decide to stay in the car with Sammie, outside the airport gate and the police officer finds someone who will take Willie to the airport building. He is back ½ hour later with Hugo, Andrej and their backpacks! It is wonderful to see them and I realize how much I’ve missed them. Hugo has a horrible cough and does not feel well at all. They went to Istanbul with Andrej coughing and they come back with Hugo coughing!
They had a wonderful time in Istanbul. We are thankful to Gabe and his roommates for their hospitality, friendliness and kindness to the boys.
Our campsite is Amman is at an interesting place: The Theodore Schneller Schule. We arrive just before 12 and receive a very friendly welcome. Yes, we can camp in the parking lot and we are welcome to join the church service which will start at 12. Hugo took some medication and went to bed whilst Willie, Andrej and I went to church. We did not understand a word, but it was soothing to sit in the peaceful surroundings, and listen to the songs in Arabic, all with familiar melodies – songs that we also sing in Afrikaans, English, German…
… I would like to share some interesting facts about the Schneller Schools in the Middle East:
Schneller Schools: Learning to Live in Peace
The title is the motto of the programme: the Schneller schools (Lebanon and Jordan) are institutions where Christian and Muslim children live together. Some are orphaned children, but many come from refugee families or from difficult family situations and many of them are marked by experiences with violence.
At the Schneller boarding schools, children receive a secure and loving environment in boarding school groups. They attend the in-house together with children from the surrounding area and can then complete their apprenticeship in workshops that also belong to the schools. The children learn the values and principles of peaceful coexistence and to respect the religion of others.
Both institutions follow the tradition of the Syrian Orphanage which was founded by the Swabian teacher Johann Ludwig Schneller in Jerusalem in 1860. He took on orphans irrespective of their religion. His work was devoted to the motto “So that they can earn their daily bread honourably.” The work of the two schools is mostly funded and supported by the Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools.
The Theodore Schneller School in Amman, Jordan
The school here in Amman is situated on the outskirts of a Palestinian refugee camp and many children are orphans or refugees from Palestine and Iraq. Facing challenges with holistic education: it offers education and training to educators and teachers. The experience-based educational high rope course helps children to develop more confidence in their skills and towards other people. At the petting zoo for remedial therapy, they learn how to treat animals with gentleness. A sensory garden will complete the range of options.
The 130 children and young people live in 6 homes with their respective dorm parents. Important social and relational skills are taught in these homes, of which one of the most important is respect for one another and for their religious differences. This is the crux of the Schneller philosophy: that children from Muslim and Christian backgrounds will eat together, communicate and live together as a family in the same home.
A Kindergarten opened its doors in 2009.
· Children receive their education in three languages: German, Arabic and English.
· Volunteers from other countries serve to support teachers and staff and many opportunities are available
· Three playgrounds and sport facilities on the premises are well used.
· A guesthouse welcomes visitors from all over the world and provides facilities for conferences and exhibitions.
You can contact me if you need any more information.
School’s contact information:
Theodore Schneller School
P.O. Box 340649 Marka
Amman 11134 Jordanien
Tel: +962-5-3616103
Fax: +962-5-3612767
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.evs-online.org
The children are out on the playground after church and Sammie becomes the main attraction. Dogs, especially tame, friendly dogs, are not something common in the Arab world, so everyone wants to touch Sammie. They yell and scream when he moves, and they touch him as if he is a hot plate. He runs after a stick that one of the boys threw and in a flash 20 little boys are running around with sticks for Sammie to fetch. Poor Sammie is mobbed and we have to put him in the car to take a break. The boys are not happy with us and now the car is mobbed, because they all want to see through the window where Sammie is.
Schneller Schools: Learning to Live in Peace
The title is the motto of the programme: the Schneller schools (Lebanon and Jordan) are institutions where Christian and Muslim children live together. Some are orphaned children, but many come from refugee families or from difficult family situations and many of them are marked by experiences with violence.
At the Schneller boarding schools, children receive a secure and loving environment in boarding school groups. They attend the in-house together with children from the surrounding area and can then complete their apprenticeship in workshops that also belong to the schools. The children learn the values and principles of peaceful coexistence and to respect the religion of others.
Both institutions follow the tradition of the Syrian Orphanage which was founded by the Swabian teacher Johann Ludwig Schneller in Jerusalem in 1860. He took on orphans irrespective of their religion. His work was devoted to the motto “So that they can earn their daily bread honourably.” The work of the two schools is mostly funded and supported by the Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools.
The Theodore Schneller School in Amman, Jordan
The school here in Amman is situated on the outskirts of a Palestinian refugee camp and many children are orphans or refugees from Palestine and Iraq. Facing challenges with holistic education: it offers education and training to educators and teachers. The experience-based educational high rope course helps children to develop more confidence in their skills and towards other people. At the petting zoo for remedial therapy, they learn how to treat animals with gentleness. A sensory garden will complete the range of options.
The 130 children and young people live in 6 homes with their respective dorm parents. Important social and relational skills are taught in these homes, of which one of the most important is respect for one another and for their religious differences. This is the crux of the Schneller philosophy: that children from Muslim and Christian backgrounds will eat together, communicate and live together as a family in the same home.
A Kindergarten opened its doors in 2009.
· Children receive their education in three languages: German, Arabic and English.
· Volunteers from other countries serve to support teachers and staff and many opportunities are available
· Three playgrounds and sport facilities on the premises are well used.
· A guesthouse welcomes visitors from all over the world and provides facilities for conferences and exhibitions.
You can contact me if you need any more information.
School’s contact information:
Theodore Schneller School
P.O. Box 340649 Marka
Amman 11134 Jordanien
Tel: +962-5-3616103
Fax: +962-5-3612767
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.evs-online.org
The children are out on the playground after church and Sammie becomes the main attraction. Dogs, especially tame, friendly dogs, are not something common in the Arab world, so everyone wants to touch Sammie. They yell and scream when he moves, and they touch him as if he is a hot plate. He runs after a stick that one of the boys threw and in a flash 20 little boys are running around with sticks for Sammie to fetch. Poor Sammie is mobbed and we have to put him in the car to take a break. The boys are not happy with us and now the car is mobbed, because they all want to see through the window where Sammie is.
I think this is how you feel when you are a traveling circus: all eyes are on you, your car, your stuff and your pet! Andrej plays marbles with some of the boys; others sit around us and bring us crisps and candy. We meet Christina, a volunteer from Germany who has just arrived and she shares very interesting information about the history of the school with us.
Willie calls our friends in Amman whom we will see tomorrow.
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