April 18, 2017
Jordan: Refugee Camp Near Syria
I’m here…I finally made it to Jordan! Over the last two days, I’ve gained much insight while on this extraordinary adventure. I am enjoying meeting the very loving families and many of the instructors who wholeheartedly want to do the best they can for the kids in their care.
Today, I visited a school in a refugee camp near Syria. Many issues are similar to those found in the U.S. and although my initial intent was to focus primarily on behavioral support, there is a tremendous need for operational and infrastructure design and development. At the school, I was able to meet with OT Speech, PT, and Teachers, and soon observed that they struggled to communicate with each other on a clinical level. I spent most of my time with them facilitating greater collaboration to help improve the strategies they were using with the students.
My desire is to encourage the redesign of their programs’ internal structures; their primary foci being staff ratio, environmental modifications, daily scheduling, and organizational structure. Many conversations moving forward will stress those changes in order to facilitate success with the behavioral consulting I am providing.
While much of what I have encountered has been challenging, I am in my element and am more convinced than ever before that APTS can and will make a difference here.
-Alan El Tagi
“Charting a Path to Success”