SOS Children's Village Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine (how the children are coping following the January 2009 conflict)

It's sad to start this update speaking about unpleasant events, but we are sure that you were worried about the children and SOS village during the war in Gaza. We are happy to say that all SOS children and staff felt safe and protected in the village. However, nothing could protect them from the planes flying above them. The sounds of the war were all around them, especially at night. During and after the war the staff made strenuous efforts to comfort the children and to reassure them that all would be ok. They tried to play games and engage them in other fun activities to take their minds off what was going on, but many children screamed when they heard the fighter planes above. They needed much love. Also, our children feared for their friends and extended families in Gaza, and naturally we couldn’t make promises about their safety. The major challenge was to keep the people in the village safe, protected and comfortable.

Summer activities at Rafah
We have 102 children living in the SOS family houses. 28 new children have been offered new families, homes and love.

Our children began the summer holidays with great energy to play, go on trips and do different activities like kung-fu, swimming, music and advanced computer courses.  They particularly loved the trips to the beach!

Health
Most of our children are in good health. Mohamed, a ten-year-old boy, recently complained about pain in his ear. A specialist decided that he suffered from an infection leading to a deterioration in his hearing. Mohamed has now recovered and hears well through a hearing aid. Tamer, a very active boy, badly broke his leg. He had to undergo two operations and his leg was put in plaster for four months. Since his physiotherapy, he can walk again.

Preparing our youth for independence
Our youth girls and boys (aged 14 and over) are improving and developing day by day, learning how to be independent.  During the last few months, in addition to academic education, we have offered activities to promote vocational skills. Such courses include filming and editing, hairdressing and beauty therapy, tailoring and sewing, swimming lessons, computer and internet courses, and advanced English courses.

SOS School and Nurseries 
Our school and two nurseries offer an education to children from both the SOS Village and the local community. This year we had 195 school students and 550 in the nurseries.  Final exams were held at the end of May. Most of the children passed the exams successfully, but with marks lower than in previous years. This is one of the bad effects of the war in Gaza. Unfortunately one of our girls has to repeat her first preparatory class and 12 children repeated school subjects in August.

SOS Dental and Medical Centres
We are pleased to announce that we have opened a well-equipped dental clinic in the Village. Our medical centre continues to provide good medical care and daily follow-up for SOS children as well as free treatment and medicine to poor and needy patients from the surrounding community.  In May, in co-operation with specialists (paediatricians, dentists and chest specialists), the centre organised a medical day for children in the community.

Story: When the going got tough, these children got going
Within just a few days, two children at an SOS Children's Village in Syria collected an impressive sum for the 'Gaza donation campaign'. It was the first time a drive like this was initiated and led by children.

Ayat, 13, and Aziz, 11, are biological siblings and have been living at SOS Children's Village Qodsaya in Syria since 2003.  "When I noticed a 'support Gaza' appeal on TV, I really wanted to donate", says Aziz. "But I didn't have any money, so I told my sister about it and she agreed to start a campaign to collect donations from others in the village." The campaign aimed to support the people of Gaza who had been affected by the armed conflict that started on 27 December 2008 and continued for 23 days.  Ayat was the first to donate: she gave away all the pocket money she had been saving to buy an MP4 without a second thought.

Aziz and Ayat shared their idea with their SOS mother, Alia, who praised their commitment and encouraged them to start the drive. "Together we drafted a letter to inform the mothers and children about the initiative and request donations. Ayat and Aziz went from door to door in the village the next day to distribute the letter and collect money," says Alia.

"This was not the first time we collected and donated money at the village to help others," Alia stresses, "but it was the first time the children started and led the initiative. I was so happy and touched when Aziz and Ayat came to me with the proposal. We have been working hard in the village to nurture the spirit of giving, responsibility and empathy amongst our children and this certainly shows we're getting there."

Many others in the village were just as eager as Alia's children to help. Thirteen-year-old Amira, who lives in another family house, embraced the idea wholeheartedly, donating almost all she had been saving. "I'm sure the children of Gaza would have helped us if it had been the other way round, if we had been in their place. I'm grateful for the chance to express my solidarity and support," she says.

The campaign's popularity grew quickly, prompting all staff at SOS Children's Villages Syria to give one day's worth of their salaries (some offered even more) to the cause. In the end, the children had collected an amazing 87,000 Syrian pounds (£1,200).   Ayat and Aziz, along with two other children who had supported the campaign tirelessly, visited the regional office for SOS Children's Villages Middle East in Damascus to hand over the amount. The money was used to help people living near SOS Children's Village Rafah, who had suffered during the war.