Jusoor is an NGO founded by Syrian expatriates with the mission to build a brighter future for Syria’s youth. This past summer, Amna Akhtar (MPA 2020) and I worked as Monitoring and Evaluation interns for Jusoor’s Refugee Education Program (REP) based in the Beirut and Beka’a governates in Lebanon. The REP operates three primary schools for over 1200 displaced Syrian children.

Amna Akhtar (MPA 2020) and I completed a ten-week internship with Jusoor based in Beirut and Beka’a governates in Lebanon. Our project goal was to design, to pilot, and to assess a new Monitoring & Evaluation program for one facet of Jusoor’s Refugee Education Program: The Summer Volunteer Program. Our work included designing eight data collection tools – including surveys and classroom observation tools – to assess student satisfaction in the classroom and teacher professional development. We trained over forty staff members on these tools and then collected data on the summer programming. At the end of the summer, we delivered strategic recommendations for Jusoor’s Refugee Education Program based on our monitoring & evaluation program.

Amna Akhtar (MPA 2020) and I worked with Jusoor as part of SIPA’s Applied Peacebuilding course. The course teaches students how to manage projects that promote peace at the grassroots level in conflict-impacted settings. Our course work proved invaluable for our eleven-week experience with Jusoor. We directly applied project management and monitoring & evaluation skills that we developed in the course.

At its heart, Applied Peacebuilding advocates a participatory approach to monitoring and evaluation – the primary goal of any outside consultants ought to be to “develop the local reservoir of materials and human assets” of the organization where you are invited to work. We brought this reflective mindset to our work every day of our summer experience.

Jusoor is a young organization – the Refugee Education Program opened its doors five years ago in 2014. Further, it’s a lean organization. As a young NGO working with displaced Syrians, the organization aims to devote nearly all of its donor funding to running the schools. These investments have paid off – Jusoor runs three successful school programs across well-resourced, safe campuses in Beirut and Beka’a. Yet, as the organization reaches its fifth year, Jusoor is now recognizing the need to develop organizational processes to continue to scale and to deliver effective programs, such as monitoring & evaluation. Amna and I were grateful for the opportunity to help them build out this capacity for future growth.

Jusoor is well-prepared to meet challenges ahead owing to its greatest asset – the teachers. Jusoor recruits its principals and teaching staff from the Syrian community in Lebanon. Narratives emerging from refugees of Syria’s Civil War often reflect unspeakable, indescribable horror. Jusoor’s teaching staff, themselves displaced by war, have faced and continue to face enormously challenging circumstances. Yet, Jusoor’s schools brim with resilience and hope. Jusoor’s invests heavily in teacher training for education in emergencies, which in turn provides students with a safe, fun space for learning. I am proud to have helped the organize prepare for its next five years and beyond, and I look forward to continue to pursue work in education in emergencies beyond my time at SIPA.