In addition to regular lessons, the school and the SOS Children's Village organise different events for the children living in the village, those attending the kindergarten and the school, their parents and families from the neighbourhood. There are football tournaments, creativity competitions and excursions through the desert. The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School organised a painting competition on the theme "Children's Rights" together with the Ministry of Education in March - and 27 schools in Rafah and Khan Younis participated.
Room to play in is especially rare under these circumstances
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Bethlehem opened in 1997 with only one class. Today 370 children are enrolled and there are 16 classes from the first to the eighth grade. Every year they plan to add another grade and some 70 to 80 new students can register. Both schools work closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, other schools, NGOs and project groups.
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
The SOS School in Bethlehem is presently participating in a special project; a study in three schools on the effect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has on children, organised by the CHERISH cooperation. This international and unifying project is aimed at identifying post-traumatic disorders, enabling schools to offer appropriate help through intervention, and working towards peace.
In den SOS-Kinderdörfern in Bethlehem und Rafah brauchen die Kinder
besondere Zuwendung
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
The results of the first study show that in the SOS School in Bethlehem alone, 37% of the children show distinct symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders, though trauma is to be found on both sides of the border. In both Israel and Palestine, about 17% of all children suffer from anxiety disorder as a result of the ongoing conflict.
SOS Children's Villages assists traumatised children and their families
in the West Bank with a mobile therapy station and four psychosocial
centres (about 33,000 treatments were given in 2007)
Photo: R. Fleischanderl
"Much more needs to be invested in education in the Palestinian Territories. Improving the education on offer would also contribute to a peaceful society", says Kamil El Shami.
Photo: SOS Archives
If you ask the children, borders can be overcome with balloons.
Learning the hard way - Part 1