Preparing For University

The family live in a small two-bedroom house, which is well furnished and has running water and electricity. Ammar's father passed away when he was a baby. He used to work as an engineer in Saudi Arabia.  His mother, Shifa, used to work as a teacher, but now stays at home to care for her children. She is suffering from chronic back pain and has a peptic ulcer.

Shifa pays particular attention to the education of her children and hopes she can afford to send them to university when they are older. All children have outstanding academic records, especially Ammar, who studies in the 5th grade and wants to be an architect.

Ammar's daily routine starts at 5:30am when he wakes up and prays fajr. He gets ready for school and leaves home at 6:00.  It takes him 15 minutes on foot to reach his school at the camp.  The morning shift classes start at 7:00am. Ammar likes mathematics and English best. He finishes school at 11:30am. At home he changes his clothes and goes out again to pray Zuhr at the nearby mosque.  He then eats lunch with his mother.  In the afternoon, Ammar goes to another Islamic Charitable school, where he learns the Qur'an, hadith and arts.  In the arts lessons, he is taught about traditional Palestinian culture and folklore including traditional dancing, called Dabka and Arabic poetry. Ammar is an excellent Dabka dancer.  He also attends IT classes, where he learns different software applications and how to prepare powerpoint presentations. He participates in sports at the school and enjoys playing football.  Ammar finishes afternoon school at 4:00pm and returns home to pray Asr. After completing his homework he eats his evening meal with the family, watches TV, prays Isha and then goes to bed.

Ammar wishes to thank his sponsor and hopes he will continue getting support in the future. He says: “I need someone to support me complete my university education."

Find out more about Islamic Relief's Orphan Sponsorship programme

Find out more about Islamic Relief in Jordan