Rebuilding Schools in Syria
Inside ADRA's BUILD Project
Picture a classroom made for about 25 students. Now squeeze in more than 50 girls. That’s the math families in one Damascus suburb were living with: two grades sharing borrowed rooms, kids doubling up at desks, while a school for girls sat empty down the street because no one had fixed the damage inside.
Rebuilding schools in Syria is how ADRA is changing that math. Through a project called BUILD, ADRA is repairing war-damaged schools and getting children back into safe, working classrooms.
This post walks through what that work looks like on the ground, why a repaired building does more than you’d expect, and how your support keeps it going.
Why Syria’s Classrooms Are Overflowing
Since late 2024, Syria has entered a new chapter. Hundreds of thousands of families who spent years displaced, inside the country and across borders in Lebanon, Jordan, and beyond, have started heading home.
Home, for many, means a town that emptied out during the war and is now filling back up fast. Schools that once served a few hundred students are suddenly asked to hold twice that.
According to UNICEF, more than 2 million children in Syria are out of school, and over 7,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed. Roughly 1.1 million refugees have returned since December 2024, and more than half of them are children.
So the buildings that survived are packed. In a lot of towns, schools now run two shifts a day just to fit everyone in.
More than 2 million children in Syria are out of school, and over 7,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed.
What the BUILD Project Actually Does
The BUILD Project is ADRA’s effort to repair two damaged schools in Syria and get students back inside them. It covers two schools in two governorates, Rural Damascus and Homs, plus school kits and supplies for 840 students. The aim is straightforward: turn buildings kids can’t safely use into schools that work.
A quick look at the two schools:
- Saqba Elementary School for Girls, Rural Damascus. This one has been out of service for years, looted and emptied during the war. Its 610 students have been packed into other buildings while their own school sits unused.
- Jobar Al Mshare’ Elementary School, Homs. Still partly running, but only just, holding 614 students across two daily shifts. Ten of its 21 classrooms are unusable, missing doors and windows.
Saqba Elementary School for Girls, Rural Damascus
Take Saqba, a town in Rural Damascus. Its elementary school for girls has been out of service for years, looted and stripped during the war.
So the girls doubled up elsewhere, crowding into the boys’ secondary school at more than 50 to a room.
ADRA started repairs here on January 12, 2026. The building had only minor structural damage, which means it can come back relatively fast. When it reopens, hundreds of girls get their own school back, and the overcrowding next-door eases at the same time.
Jobar Al Mshare' Elementary School, Homs
About 15 kilometers from Homs, Jobar Al Mshare’ tells a similar story with a sharper edge. The school has 21 classrooms across three floors. Ten of them sit unusable, missing doors and windows.
Before families started returning, it ran one shift for around 250 kids. Now it runs two shifts for 614, including children from nearby villages and older students in catch-up classes designed to fit two school years into one.
Then there’s the timing. The second shift lets out at 4:30 p.m. In winter, that’s near dark. Upper floors are damaged, and some windows have no glass or frames at all.
For a parent, sending a child into that building as the light fades is a real risk, and it’s the kind of risk that keeps girls home for good.
ADRA planned to begin work here on February 1, 2026, once contracting wrapped up.
Why Fixing the Building Keeps Kids in School
Most coverage of Syria’s schools stops at one number: millions of kids out of class. The harder question is what actually gets them back. And a big part of the answer is the building itself.
A safe, finished building is what lets an overcrowded school drop from two shifts back to one.
That single change ends the after-dark dismissals. It clears the crowding that pushes 50 kids into a room meant for far fewer. Fix the roof, the windows, the wiring, and the sockets, and you’ve removed the exact reasons a family decides school isn’t worth the risk this year.
On paper, the work is a punch list. In practice, each line removes a barrier:
- Structural repairs, new doors, windows, and ironwork. This is what makes a looted, exposed building safe to enter again. Until it’s sealed and solid, nothing else matters.
- A solar power system. Where the grid is unreliable, solar keeps the lights on, including for that late-afternoon second shift. It’s the difference between a usable school and a dark one.
- Water, sewage, and electrical networks, plus proper WASH facilities. Clean, working bathrooms are a big reason girls in particular stay enrolled. Skip them, and attendance quietly drops.
- Furniture, desks, and facilities built for students with disabilities. A repaired room isn’t really usable until kids have somewhere to sit and every child can get through the door.
- School kits and supplies for 840 students. Once the buildings are ready, kids get the basics they need to actually learn, not just a room to sit in.
ADRA Has Done This Before in Syria
This isn’t ADRA’s first school in the country. After the 2023 earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria, ADRA rebuilt and restored schools and homes for families who’d lost nearly everything, including one school that now serves more than 1,000 students. Years of work on the ground means ADRA already knows the ministries, the local committees, and the contractors, which is part of why the BUILD Project could move from assessment to construction in a matter of months.
ADRA runs BUILD in close coordination with Syria’s Ministry of Education, local municipalities, and community committees. There’s a complaints hotline printed on cards and posted on banners at each site, so families can flag problems directly. That’s not a small thing. Accountability is what turns a one-off repair into a school a community actually trusts.
Accountability is what turns a one-off repair into a school a community actually trusts.
You Can Help Rebuild a Classroom in Syria
Rebuilding schools in Syria isn’t only about concrete and paint. It’s about a girl in Saqba getting her own classroom back, and a kid in Homs walking home from school before dark. ADRA’s BUILD Project is turning two damaged, half-empty buildings into places where hundreds of children can learn safely again, and it’s part of a commitment ADRA has kept in Syria for years.
You can be part of what happens next. A one-time gift helps, and becoming a monthly donor helps even more, because steady support is what lets this work continue school after school. Want to see the bigger picture first? ADRA’s education page shows where your giving goes.
Somewhere in Syria, a repaired classroom is about to fill with kids. You can help make sure the next one does too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ADRA's BUILD Project in Syria?
BUILD is ADRA’s project to repair two war-damaged schools in Syria, in Rural Damascus and Homs, and to provide school kits and supplies to 840 students. The work includes structural repairs, solar power, water and electrical systems, furniture, and accessible facilities so children can return to safe classrooms.
Why are schools in Syria so overcrowded right now?
Since late 2024, hundreds of thousands of displaced families have returned home. Towns that emptied during the war are filling up fast, so the schools left standing now hold far more students than they were built for. Many run two shifts a day just to fit everyone.
How does rebuilding a school help kids beyond the classroom?
A finished, safe building lets an overcrowded school return to one shift instead of two. That ends after-dark dismissals, eases crowding, and removes the safety worries that keep some families, especially those with daughters, from sending kids at all. The building is part of the education itself.
How can I help rebuild schools in Syria?
You can support ADRA’s education work with a one-time gift or by becoming a monthly donor through ADRA’s Angels program. Monthly giving is steady, which helps ADRA plan long projects like school repairs. Every gift helps get children back into safe classrooms.
Author | ADRA International w/ ADRA Syria
Photo Credit | ADRA Syria
