The list of unavailable foodstuffs and necessities grows daily. "And what is still available in the markets is exorbitantly expensive", says Kamil El Shami, project director of SOS Children's Villages in Rafah.
The cordoning off of the Gaza strip makes life increasingly trying for the inhabitants. One has to walk many places because there is nearly no fuel available. The limited mobility, closed off streets, checkpoints and military activities affect regular schooling, since the students can often not get to school. The students and teachers of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Rafah have been dealing with such difficulties for years, but the present situation is especially depressing.
Borders and barbed wire… definitely not a child-friendly world (Bethlehem)
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
The 2,400 schools in the Palestinian Territories are struggling due to overfilled classes, insufficient computers and labs, hardly any audio-visual equipment, very few possibilities for teaching children with special needs, and poor building quality. In rural areas there is no educational infrastructure whatsoever.
Being given an education is not self-evident for many children
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
There is an average of 52 children per class, and a third of the schools have split-shift scheduling, especially in the Gaza Strip. The literacy rate is of 93%, and 90% of the nearly one million students attend secondary school. Some 70% complete middle school, partly because tests are simplified given the difficult circumstances. The real problems begin afterwards, when the young people need to find work and secure future prospects, as there is an 80% unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip.
In the SOS Schools in Rafah and Bethlehem, uniforms are available for
free, fees are low and scholarships are available for those in need
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
Through the years, the SOS Children's Villages facilities have become significant reference points, places where the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank find hope. The SOS Schools in Rafah and Bethlehem are better able to offer equipped classrooms and playgrounds than the state-run schools and other private schools. There are about 30 students in each class and the teachers have thorough training.
There are equal numbers of boys and girls at the SOS Schools
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
Both schools are full, the waiting lists are long, and the kindergarten in Rafah already cares for 360 children and cannot take in any more. There is hardly anything on offer for the people living there. In Rafah, 177 children attend the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, and language and computer courses for women are also on offer.
Learning the hard way / Part 2