Since 2012, in the heart of war-torn Syria, the Foshet Sama - Espace du Ciel (Space of Heaven) project has been working to restore a space for education and hope.
Founded in Aleppo by Jina Achji, a refined pedagogue and spiritual guide trained at Beirut's Saint-Joseph University, the initiative is aimed primarily at children, youth and mothers who have been displaced and deprived of any access to education.
The idea emerged from the first signs of the Syrian conflict: to bring together young people from different communities to create an educational and psychosocial center, a true refuge in the face of violence and social breakdown. Over the years, Foshet Sama has become a model for different communities living together, offering quality teaching, psychological support, and a structured environment to hundreds of beneficiaries.
The project has experienced significant growth: from 75 students in 2012, to more than 900 in 2023, spread across six centers (five in Aleppo, one in Hama). The goal is to create bonds, rebuild reference points and prepare a generation capable of embodying the values of peace and resilience.
In addition to traditional academic courses, the center offers a wide range of activities: psychological support, life-skills training, personal development programs, mother accompaniment, manual workshops, environmental awareness... Each beneficiary - child, mother, university student - finds a space for listening, exchange and reconstruction. In Hama, particularly, the opening of a center supported by the Latin Church has met a strong educational need in a city still marked by divisions.
The project works through team efforts: five supervisors lead the overall vision, supported by a hundred volunteers. Psychosocial facilitators, teachers, coordinators, and even a legal adviser form the solid base of an initiative that has become a point of reference for many families.
During her visit to the Dicastery for promoting Integral Human Development, Ms. Achji showed how much these centers enable everyone, young and old, to live in an environment “that really helps them develop, freely, in a way that gives them the strength to face life, to exist, and to build peace in society.”
Supported since 2016 by L'Œuvre d'Orient and in collaboration with the Maronite and Latin Churches, Foshet Sama has been able to expand, acquire a new location for preparatory classes, and organize spiritual and psychological retreats for its members. The introduction of training such as emotional intelligence testifies to a holistic view of human development.
The results are tangible: women regaining self-confidence, students discovering their potential, families recovering dialogue and serenity. One mother confided recently, “Thanks to the meetings, I have learned to no longer see my children as the cause of my weariness, but as people to be loved.”
In a Syria in crisis, Espace du Ciel represents the light of a possible future. This project, rooted in faith, listening and pedagogy, proves that even in the midst of chaos, seeds of hope can be sown and make them bear fruit.