The Primary School of Christ the Saviour, Zerqa

The Primary School of Christ the Saviour, Zerqa, was founded in 1955 by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem to meet the needs of the ever increasing community of Palestinian refugees in Zerqa. After Amman, Zerqa is the second largest city in Jordan with the highest population density in Jordan. It is a place of great social need, most of Zerqa's inhabitants are either Army personnel or factory workers - about 62% of Jordan's industry is located there. After the occupation by Israel of the Jordanian West Bank in 1948, Saint Saviour's Anglican Church enlarged its community outreach from providing practical aid to Palestinian refugees to empowering the refugees by means of education and founded an Anglican Primary School.

The School at Zerqa

Just as at Saint Mary's Primary School, the school children at Saint Saviour's come from various religious backgrounds, and Muslims and Christians attend classes together. The school provides religious education for both faith groups. There is a daily assembly at which both Muslims and Christians pray together for the work of the school and the needs of the world, and join in the Lord's Prayer. In addition, Christian school children attend Saint Saviour's church on Wednesdays and Sundays for a Church service. All this constitutes the mission of the church which, in an Islamic country, is made more difficult by restrictive government injunctions regarding the role of Christian churches in a Muslim state.

In the 1960s the school's three primary classes were augmented by three further classes. In 1994 a Board of Managers was formed to relieve the work of the Church's pastoral committee from the day to day administration of the school. The same year a seventh grade was added. Over the last five years, the school built another floor to house a library, a science lab, a computer lab and three further classrooms. Saint Saviour's School now comprises a complete primary school (years 1-9), and a recently refurbished nursery, developed in conjunction with the German Embassy in Amman. The school is one of the few schools in Zerqa to teach both boys and girls together.

Giving opportunities

Saint Saviour's School Zerqa desperately needs to maintain and upgrade its facilities. The school library requires encyclopedias, English language books, and reference material as well as some modern visual educational equipment. The computer lab needs to be extended, and internet connections are required for the students to communicate, say, with the students at Saint Mary's Primary School. If you, or your company, can be of help, please contact the Development Director at the Diocese of Jerusalem, Ms. Nancy Dinsmore who would be delighted to hear from you.