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Announcing
International Summer
Work camp in Palestine
12th-30th
July 2006
At
Zajel Youth Exchange Program
Public Relations
Department
An-Najah National
University
Nablus-Palestine
“Meet Palestine"
In the Memory of Asem
“Recognizing
that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his
or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in
an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding” .
UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child
An-Najah National University is pleased to
invite youth and adults up to 35, to take part in the “Meet
Palestine” summer work camp. This project has been
designed to provide international students and professionals the
opportunity to meet and discuss the Middle East conflict, share
ideas, enhance practical skills, foster relationships, and give
assistance to members of the Palestinian community.
The international summer work camp, “Meet
Palestine”, will bring together 20 young
people from around the world who are interested in
helping create a better world. We are specifically targeting
people who are working with organizations led by young people
that address humanitarian issues and social justice. We strongly
encourage highly motivated and serious young men and women to
apply.
Zajel is a youth exchange programme that was
established by An-Najah in 2001. Meet Palestine is one of
Zajel's promising projects and will offer the opportunity for
international volunteers to work with, and provide support for
Palestinian refugee children, and to experience life in one of
the Palestinian refugee camps, which unfortunately are home to
many people in Palestine.
Zajel International
Voluntary Work Camp
 The work camp will be a challenging three weeks. The participants
will have the chance to discuss relevant issues in the world and
particularly Palestine. They will visit historically significant
sites and refugee camps, and create a positive and real impact
in our community through a variety of activities related to
Social Youth Development. Living and working together in Nablus,
the participants will gain a better understanding of themselves,
Palestinian social/political questions, the world around them
and the continuing Palestinian struggle for freedom.
The work camp will be a place where people of all races,
ideologies, and nationalities live and work together on a
project organized by a local host for around three weeks. The
work camp will consist of 20 participants, who volunteer,
socialize and work with the local people. The
international summer work camp is run by young people for young
people.
The program consists of:
.jpg) Voluntary
Work:
There are a number of different forms of work
that volunteers can participate in, which will be based at the
Social Development Centre in Askar Refugee Camp.
The work program has been designed to best suit the needs of
the people in Askar, as well as to effectively utilise the
talents we anticipate volunteers will bring from abroad. The
work will be divided into the following sections:
Summer Camp:
There will be one summer camp that will allow
branching out from the centre to different aspects of the local
community. The main activities of the summer camp will consist
of workshops relating to folklore, arts and crafts, reading,
sporting, entertainment, as well as workshops on children’s
issues. International volunteers are needed to help supervise
and oversee the different activities.
Counselling and
Psychological Support:
 The
Counselling and Psychological Support Program organizes sessions
for both groups and individuals to provide support and
counselling for the refugee community. The occupation and the
frequent military invasions into the camp have caused tremendous
psychological damage, especially for young children. Meet
Palestine will assist this program in a number of ways,
performing roles that do not require specialist training. This
will include organizing and supervising educational and
recreational activities for children to help them relax. It is
of fundamental importance to give the children some time to act,
think, play and feel like children should. Any recommended
activity that might be useful in this regard is more than
welcomed. We hope the international volunteers will initiate and
conduct new methods that will assist the local volunteers in
running this project.
Providing assistance in counseling and psychological support is
one of the most important aspects of the work camp and a great
deal of attention has been put into this area. Although
volunteers will have a professional working with them all the
time, they must nevertheless be prepared. This part of the work
camp promotes self-confidence and psychological release whereby
group activities and games involving cooperation, music and
drawing are often used to achieve this. International volunteers
often find these activities the most enjoyable.
The kindergarten:
A kindergarten was established in 2003 and
provides educational facilities for children between the ages of
2 and 5. Supervised by well-trained specialists, the children
have classes and activities in music, painting and acting. The
international volunteers will work with children in the above
mentioned fields.
Sports:.jpg)
We encourage some of the more athletic
volunteers to help supervise sporting activities at the camp for
children aged 10 – 12 years old. Normally the children play
games such as football, volleyball and martial arts.
International volunteers will help in organizing matches and
also directly participate. What more can we say, sport is
what kids love and often do best. Games can vary from football
which is very popular, to rope jumping or even tug-o-war. For
this part of the work camp don't worry about supplies. Just pack
up your gym shoes, cap and hope you'll keep up.
Music and Arts:
This program was started in 2002 and is
supervised by local volunteers who also give music lessons.
International volunteers can work with children playing
simple instruments, singing songs and listening to music. This
is an opportunity for Children to learn songs both in Arabic and
other languages.
In addition to musical activities, a number
of workshops have been organized to allow children to develop
their creative talents through art. The arts programme
involves teaching kids how to make art objects out of common
items like bottles, rocks and plastic glasses. Other activities
run by volunteers have included face painting, drawing, painting
on rocks, sculpture, hand prints and lots more.
The idea behind this project is to let kids have fun and be
creative. Four galleries were organized to
encourage the children to exhibit their work. International
volunteers will work along side the local volunteers to prepare
the galleries for the end of the work camp.
Drama:.jpg)
This program is aimed at children aged 11
to14 years from both genders. Started in 2003, the drama
workshop has been shown to be an effective tool for encouraging
self-expression and psychological release in which the
supervisors help the children explore their creativity and
interests.
Drama helps build self-confidence and
develops children’s communication to better enable them to
interact with their social environment. It provides them with a
greater feeling of personal security, reveals a variety of
talents and makes them more creative in their everyday life.
International volunteers are encouraged to share their skills in
the production of plays with local young boys and girls. Bring
with you short stories that could be performed as plays, and
that can be understood by people who have limited English.
.jpg) Working
with the Disabled:
Working with disabled kids and organizing
activities for them is one of the most vital programmes for
children who are in need of special consideration and treatment.
International volunteers can participate in painting, dancing,
playing instruments and encouraging kids to smile. Any
suggestions for games are welcomed.
Cultural Activities
The study part of the
work camp takes the form of study tours and other cultural
activities. The workshops are closely related to the interests
and needs of the local youth.
There are lectures on
history, religion, gender roles, refugees, and youth itself,
which provide an insight into different cultures. To create
interaction amongst peers, the workshops include role-play and
other similar activities. International volunteers will visit
local community associations for women and youth, cultural clubs
and forums as well as share activities with them.
During the weekends the
activities of the work camp will focus on cultural matters. The
group will visit places of historical interest in the Nablus
area. The volunteers and the locals will prepare for these
activities during the work camp.
Entertainment
.jpg) Daily
entertainment activities are important for the recreation of the
volunteers. These are important
because they help the volunteers to relax and prepare for the
following days work. Also, Palestine is more than just a
conflict zone, and it is important for the volunteers to see the
beautiful and fun sides of Palestinian culture. The
entertainment varies from night to night. It will include visits
to coffee shops, the Turkish bath, oriental nights, visits to
local families, and games. Your ideas are welcome!!
.jpg) Background
Education in Nablus
has been affected a great deal during the past five years as a
result of Israeli aggression and its divisive policies. Sieges
and incursions have had the most effect on education and people
both physically and psychologically. Many children have been
arrested and humiliated by Israeli soldiers at check points
throughout Palestine. Students have been killed, injured and
intimidated on their way to and from school. Many have suffered
psychologically, with detrimental effects on their school
performance and their future.
Goals:
-
.jpg) International
and Local Understanding - To develop awareness of issues
and problems facing the Palestinian youth, and to enlarge
and clarify their perspective of themselves as active
participants in Palestinian history and culture.
-
Solidarity – Local Palestinians are
in serious need to be encouraged and cheered up by the
international volunteers who will come and take part in
shaping the present and the promising future.
-
Cultural Understanding – To develop
individuals with a broader comprehension of the differences
amongst cultures and to empower them to accept and deal with
diverse opinions, customs and religions.
-
Social Development – To impact our
local community in its most diverse spheres such as
education, health, and peace promotion.
.jpg)
Date:
Zajel Youth Exchange Program will organize one International
Voluntary Work Camp on the following dates:
Zajel Camp 0021: from 12th -30th.July
2006
Fee: US$ 200
.jpg)
The fee includes:
-
Food & Accommodation
-
Local
transportation
-
Administrative
cost
Vision
The vision of
Meet Palestine
is to help improve
the lives of children in the Askar refugee camp by organizing
and supervising activities that are both educational and
recreational. This is especially important during the summer
months when they are not in school, and have little to do and
have no other outlets for their time and energy. We try to
provide as many positive options as we can in a very negative
situation.
Zajel
 Zajel
Youth Exchange Program (Zajel means "dove") is an official
educational program at the Public Relations Department of An-Najah
National University in Nablus, Palestine
An-Najah National
University is one of the universities in Palestine, founded in
1977. Students come from different regions of Palestine, in
search of knowledge and education. Furthermore, the university
focuses on the active and responsible participation of the
students in community life. All students are strongly encouraged
to perform volunteer work for the university or for the
community.
Zajel Youth Exchange
Program offers the opportunity for local students to participate
in work camps and other international exchanges in order to
experience intercultural dialogue.
 The
idea behind it is to provide youth from around the globe an
opportunity to interact and learn from Palestinian society,
creating a concrete impact. Bringing people together through
work camps or study tours in a region of constant fighting and
tension, Zajel Youth Exchange Program aims to create a dynamic
learning environment for cultural understanding, experience
sharing and partnership, striving to promote mutual
understanding and respect among people. This program intends to
establish a wide network of young people willing to make a
difference and truly act as democratic leaders of change in
Palestinian society.
The number of participants
desired is about 20 international and 10 local volunteers. We
intend to have a gender-balanced work camp. One well trained
local volunteer will take the responsibility of leading the work
camp.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for the info sheet and the
application form.
In order to learn the benefit this experience
can bring, you can read the personal impressions of volunteers
who previously participated in the Project Together and
For A Better Future workcamps. Please don’t hesitate to
take a look at the links below:
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2005/internationals_impressions2005.htm
And
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2004/impressions2004.htm
You can also read about the impressions of the refugee children
who were participating in the work camp by visiting this link:
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2005/children_impressions2005.htm
Sincerely yours,
Alaa Yousef
Zajel Youth Exchange Program
Public Relations Department
An-Najah National University
Nablus, Palestine
www.youth.zajel.org
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/workcamps.htm
youthexchange@najah.edu
www.najah.edu
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