Karrada - Bagdad (Iraq), 06/16/2021, Sr. Thérèse Hélène, Principal of the school.- Located in the heart of the city of Bagdad, our educational institution is composed of a Pre-school, Primary school and a Supplementary school which started this year (2021). We simultaneously provide two programs, of the State and the one of the school (A program enriched in Arabic, French and English), in order to offer a wide variety of choices and orientations in the life of the children. At all levels, classes are animated in the spirit of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, whose mission is to provide children and youth, a human formation based on love and respect for one another. Certainly, values and strong convictions guide our whole pedagogical focus: to educate, transmit, announce and celebrate the Word of the Gospel.

"Keep the presence of God in all your actions. often renew the intention of doing everything for His glory" (Marie Poussepin)

Vice-Province ensures the direction, administration and management of the school in close collaboration with the coordinators responsible for different cycles and the teachers who share our mission and thus opens up to the young people a whole universe of possibilities for growth, progress and development in their daily lives. Every member of our Educational Family assumes this great responsibility of personal encounter and collective commitment to welcome and offer an experience of joy and hope for the children, with the aim of safeguarding their heritage and traditional oriental values.

Having suffered so many events in Iraq: war, embargo and crisis, in addition to the coronavirus, many families are still displaced and disoriented and even, unfortunately, language of the values have changed. Thus, as far as our educational mission is concerned, these happenings, increase the poverty rate, but above all the Covid19 pandemic is taking us where we don’t want to go. It is as if we were on a drifting boat. Surrounded by all these, the work becomes even more difficult for teachers who have had to readapt their educational practices and find new ways of relating to their students.

In the face of various changes in the learning system requirements as much as in the needs of students and the fight against the Covid19 pandemic, students, parents and educators face many difficulties due to the lack of adequate means of telecommunication, at the risk of having more children deprived of education. Often our students try to follow their schooling through the internet in a country where sometimes a child has to share the same computer with his siblings or receive his homework on a mobile phone too small to be able to read. In fact, there are several issues at stake. It will take time to adapt and we really fear that the lack of attendance of students in schools will have a lasting impact on the future education of the children, especially in poorer households.

Obviously, “online” courses provide children with more resources who have access to technology. This system is not always easy due to power cuts causing internet failure for both students and teachers. The teachers who have weak internet connection at home, come to give “online” classes from school.

And as the saying goes "every difficulty has its good side" we took advantage of the presence of the teachers to do some spiritual activities (retreats, sharing the Word of God, formation… etc.) to highlight the importance of God’s action in the education in the school of which they are part of and is indispensable to maintain Hope as "a spiritually well- formed educator will guide her students on the right path".

In the same way, we always use the opportunities provided by the holidays for the celebration of the Eucharist with the teachers and also to reflect on ways to overcome the challenges that still exist in the teaching profession in Iraq. Finally, we must say that, in this educational context characterized by many changes, what remains stable in our institution is our commitment to transmit to the students and even to the young teachers, the values of human life according to the Gospel, which do not change in essence, but which must be adapted to the language, lifestyle and rapid evolution of youth.

Today, more than ever, we want to follow the path traced by our Mother Foundress in the exercise of our profession in the field of education, according to our Charism. Our commitment to service is at the heart of the Church and society and is always we serve the most disadvantaged.

May Our Lady of the Presentation accompany us and always strengthen us in our mission.