Providing holistic learning to Gaza's children

With your support, this amazing after-school program is going strong in its third year. 

Art, English, and Science lessons are provided to children twice a week. While most lessons are given in the Women’s Program Center, Artist Laila gives art classes in her garden. This after-school program offers holistic learning to children. Textbooks are consulted for guidance but teachers keep up to date on current information by consulting other resources. More importantly, lessons are tailored according to the background knowledge of the students. Those with little or no knowledge are provided with extra help to bring them up to speed with others. 

Teachers make sure that children fully grasp the concepts. Science teacher Ruwaida involves children in making creative projects in the class to clarify basic science concepts. Recently, children made a model of the human heart to learn its structure and functions and to understand how the circulatory system works. Children also made the human skeletal system with cotton swabs and labeled its various parts. This intricate model was a treat to see.

Teachers involve students in problem-solving activities to encourage independent thinking and motivation for learning. Children are provided with plenty of fun opportunities because they often learn best through play. Maha comes up with fun ways to teach English. Children are asked to create sentences using colorful papers, pictures, and cards. In the pictures below, you can see children creating a sentence to talk about the day and weather. In another activity called ‘Let’s Make a Cake’, children learned about kitchen items in English.

The children have also been observing special cultural and international days. The idea is to create awareness and celebrate achievements. Artist Laila threw a small party to celebrate Christmas and New Year for her students in her garden. She told the children that new beginnings mean new opportunities and striving for one’s dreams and goals with a fresh mind. 

Recently, children observed International Women’s Day by doing many activities. They honored two great women: Donna Baranski Walker (Executive Director of Rebuilding Alliance ) and Mrs. Najah Ayyash (Head of the Women’s Program Center, WPC, Rafah) for their humanitarian work. In Artist Laila’s class, children made beautiful gifts for their mothers. And with art teacher Nermeen, they made small tokens of appreciation for the women working in the WPC. On the occasion of Valentine's Day, children sent their love to all the children of the world. 

I want to thank you for providing these children with such wonderful opportunities for learning and fun. You’re giving them the best gift ever by investing in their bright future. Please encourage your friends and family to make a gift for this wonderful project!

Thank you for all that you do!

To support this project, please click here.