The Qattan Centre for the Child, in partnership with local organisations and primary schools has recently concluded a series of projects aimed at children under the age of 15 and their parents. These projects included various cultural activities to encourage children to enjoy reading.
QCC concluded ‘Read and Enjoy Together’ project which was launched by the Centre in April 2012 with funding from Save the Children. Over a period of two years, it targeted children from the ages of 4 -15 in schools, kindergartens, public institutions, children’s hospitals and children organisations, especially those in marginalized areas. The project aimed to broaden children’s horizons by encouraging them to read, making use of the mobile library service and putting on a series of cultural, educational and recreational activities. The total number of children involved in this project alone came to over 17,000.
The Centre also organised a workshop targeting 20 kindergarten educators and principals. The workshop focused on family literacy, active learning, child’s growth and children’s health and safety.
Moreover, and as part of the ‘Read and Enjoy Together’ project, QCC organised a programme on family literacy for parents and children. The programme aimed at strengthening the parents’ role as their children’s first teacher. Around 160 mothers took part.
The Centre also completed a project entitled the ‘Mobile Library’, which was co-funded by the Swiss Development Agency and implemented between October 2011 and March 2014. It targeted children aged 4-15 in the Gaza Strip, and sought to use a series of integrated cultural and recreational activities to encourage them to think critically and creatively. More than 42,000 children benefited from this project.
Finally, the ‘Our Schools...Our Communities’ project was also brought to a close by the Centre this year. Co-funded by the Norwegian Refugee Council, the project was implemented by the Centre for the fourth consecutive year, targeting children and their parents from three primary schools in the Rafah Governorate. Activities included the establishment of 6 clubs for parents and the training of several teachers on the subject of ‘Family Literacy’; 180 parents and 300 children were involved in the project.