So it’s been a little quiet around here lately. But only because things have been incredibly LOUD in our world in some really neat ways.

You may already know that we live and work outside of Beirut, Lebanon with abused, abandoned, and neglected children, many of them refugees from the region’s many conflicts. Well early this year, a group from the United States expressed a desire to partner with us and another organization in Lebanon to create a brand new school just for our kids.

Since that time, we’ve been crafting a school intended just for them. Most of them have never been to school. All of them have experienced trauma; all of them live separated from their families (if they have families at all). So our school aims to meet their biggest developmental and emotional needs first, in the context of academics and relevant vocational skills. It’s the first school of its kind that we know of, and it has been a monster of a roller coaster. It has taken every drop of energy we’ve had for months and months and months.

But now we’re eight weeks in to this boisterous adventure, and we’re seeing amazing things happen. The kids feel safe and know they’re cared for. They’re so hungry to learn and are growing as people so, so much.

Then a mere five weeks into the new school, one of the grant organizations (who reports to the UN) had their representatives come and privately interview each of our students. We felt certain there would be a lot of “constructive feedback” from our kids, but with tears in their eyes, the interviewers said that every last kid said they love school and feel safe and respected.

Now that things are finding their rhythm, we’re hoping to get back to the imagination and fun we used to share more often.

Most of all, THANK YOU for being a part of the Serious Creatures family. You are a huge part of our work here in Lebanon and your participation in our online shenanigans keeps us smiling. We can’t thank you enough!