Ahlan Simsim Friends

Ahlan Simsim Friends aims to: 

• Facilitate effective play-based interactions that support children’s development and wellbeing. 
• Offer children opportunities for supportive, secure, predictable, inclusive, and culturally relevant early learning experiences. 
• Provide content on social-emotional learning, well-being, and play-based learning to foster cognitive and physical development, emotional awareness and social skills, resilience, and positive attitudes.
• Complement formal and informal education programs and support transitions or going back to learning for out-of-school children.

Children feel happy and safe in Ahlan Simsim Friends Program

Children self-report feelings of happiness and safety with reference to the services (teacher/facilitator; activities; other children).

Ahlan Simsim Friends

Who we
worked with

Children 3-8 years old from displaced & host communities

Where we
worked

Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan

How we delivered content

In person
Trained staff facilitate modular activities for small groups of children

Intensity/Frequency
.

Flexible
These activities can be implemented across multiple sectors

Program Content and Delivery

Ahlan Simsim Friends is a modular and flexible program featuring a bank of activities centered on social-emotional learning, literacy, and numeracy, and a wealth of Ahlan Simsim multimedia materials.

It is designed to complement any formal or informal education and recreational program and can be implemented in various locations, including early childhood development (ECD) centers, classrooms, community centers, and mobile units. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) implemented this program in women’s protection and empowerment centers and vocational training centers, engaging children while their parents are occupied with other activities. Facilitators for the program receive essential materials and 66 modular activities. Each activity contains detailed facilitation guidance and resources, including printout worksheets, flashcards, and other multimedia materials to be displayed during the session. Facilitators choose one to three activities per session based on group size (up to 20 children), children’s age, and available materials, space, and time. Activities include tips for facilitators to adapt to multi-age groups and for children with learning difficulties or disabilities.

Materials and Resources

Ahlan Simsim Friends’ curricula, materials and multimedia resources were designed and developed in Arabic.

Index of Activities

A bilingual index in Arabic and English

Sample of Activities for Children

A bilingual resource in Arabic and English.

Training and Supervision

Facilitators complete a three to five-day training, depending on prior experience, covering program introduction, the importance of ECD, disability inclusion, child protection, well-being, facilitation techniques, and monitoring and evaluation tools. 

They receive ongoing individual or group coaching and mentoring sessions addressing contextual challenges and opportunities for improvement. Support sessions are scheduled as needed: weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Facilitators have access to Ahlan Simsim E-learning modules that cover core ECD topics online and can also download the Kadr Facilitator Application which provides easy access to program materials and multi-media content.

Training Agenda for Ahlan Simsim Friends

A bilingual training agenda in Arabic and English.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Ahlan Simsim Friends monitoring and evaluation plan was developed incorporating monitoring tools to assess program effectiveness and quality. These tools include a child registration tool, child and caregiver survey tools, an educator test and survey tool, a classroom spot check tool, and a session observation tool. Monitoring and evaluation teams routinely collect and share data with program staff in learning and reflection sessions two to three times per year. Ahlan Simsim Families also went through multiple rounds of monitoring data analysis and client feedback that enabled teams to adjust the program’s design and delivery.  

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Tools, resources, and reports that supported the safe, engaging, and quality implementation of Ahlan Simsim Friends

Qualitative Monitoring Report

This report includes perspectives of children, their caregivers, and facilitators

Child Registration Form

A form used to enroll children in programming

Child Registration Scoring Tool

Helps tabulate information for program enrollment

Child Feedback Survey

A tool used to collect children’s feedback.

Child feedback scoring tool

Session Observation Tool

A tool to support quality implementation.

Scoring tool for session observations

Partners

IRC

Play to Learn

Sesame Workshop