4 – 10 April 2015: The first week of the April project in Jordan again had many touching moments. In the mornings we always went through the children’s programme in a large open space of the city, which quickly filled up when we arrived. A football game was always the highlight among the boys. But the other things we offered, such as painting faces, making bracelets, playing frisbee, and drawing with chalk on the ground were welcomed enthusiastically as well. The children loved spending time with us, and these morning hours were invaluable for us as well. We experienced many touching moments with the children, who simply needed us to be there for them and would have preferred to never let us go.

In the afternoons we visited refugee families and brought them urgently needed food packages and other types of aid. But the things we brought often turned out to be of secondary importance, because the families mostly enjoyed simply spending time with us. The kids, on the other hand, got excited about the toys we had brought and about playing games together. Carefully establishing contact at the beginning helped us to gain the trust of the grownups, and our visits occasionally ended with lighthearted song and dance. At the end of our visit a woman said that “since the war, we had forgotten what happiness is all about – until you reminded us.” And that’s exactly what we want to give these families: lighthearted and joyful moments.

On behalf of the project team at the location: Anja S., teacher (24)