Fadi was one of the many displaced children who come to us for help.
His family had lived in a part of Syria which had been taken over by fundamentalists. We can only imagine what horrors this little boy had seen in his home town, and what he encountered on his long and dangerous journey to the relative safety of Lattakia.
When Fadi came to Little Heroes, he was excitable and highly strung, and he found it almost impossible to communicate with others. He could only whisper, even when he needed help. As for the other children, Fadi didn’t know how to engage with them; he had lost all his own friends, and he was did not feel safe around those his own age. To begin with, Fadi could not ‘open up’ and make friends at all. We were so worried about what would happen to this traumatised little boy.
With patience and understanding, we helped Fadi to come out of his shell through offering him the opportunity to take part in art, drama and music – activities which were, sadly and shockingly, totally new to him.
He did not realise that he was slowly letting his guard down as he played a game with the other children. He was unaware that the sketch he was taking part in was more than just a few minutes of fun, that it was giving him the chance to express himself and to be a Little Hero. After three days, Fadi was running around with the other children and even being a little naughty – such a change from the ghost of a child we had first encountered.
With the help of Little Heroes, Fadi can now look forward to the future and he no longer has to whisper to people when he wants to talk because he feels more comfortable and he now lives without fear. Little Heroes have given Fadi a sense of new energy and hope that he can live a better life without fear.