Blossom Hill is proud to announce the opening of our Montessori-inspired Early Childhood Center’s in Azraq, Jordan! 

The community in Azraq has been severely impacted by the Syrian crisis. In fact, the population of the town has more than doubled from the influx of refugees since 2012. Today it is home to almost 36,000 Syrian refugees, and nearly 22 percent are under five years old. With strains in all sectors of the economy, the demand for education is rarely met. For the earliest learners, it is non-existent. The Blossom Hill Early Childhood Center is the first and only center serving preschool refugee children in Azraq.

The Center supports early academic and behavioral needs of the youngest refugee and other vulnerable Jordanian children (ages 3- 6) through an innovative and proven early childhood curriculum inspired by Montessori methods. The methods provide a holistic education that develops children physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. We believe that each child has limitless worth and potential, and this ‘approach to life’, as Dr. Montessori put it, is at the heart of her philosophy. By providing a nurturing environment where we can cater to the personal and intellectual development of each child, we can enable them to develop to their full potential. In addition, this approach provides opportunities for Syrian and Jordanian children to appreciate the differences that make each of them unique in a socially cohesive context.

Maria Montessori said: “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” That is why we set up our Center in the heart of a refugee hub in Jordan. The Center is our investment in peace through innovation. It is innovative not only because it is the first early childhood center in Azraq but because it brings refugees from different countries together in an exceptional proven program that celebrates their differences and encourages their collaboration. And in the context of protracted conflicts in the Middle East, it is an investment in the future peacebuilders of this region. Click hereto read about how Blossom Hill Fellow Lexi opened the school in Azraq.