ROTA and Save the Children Collaborate to Support Children in Gaza Strip
- Rate of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Children from the Gaza Strip Increases to 70%
Qatar-based NGO Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Save the Children Sweden (SCS) - an NGO committed to defending children's rights - in order to create safe learning environments for the children in Gaza Strip (Occupied Palestinian Territory).
ROTA and SCS will collaborate towards the creation of Safe Areas for Emergency Education (SAfEE) in the Gaza Strip, benefiting over 2000 boys and girls (10-14 years old) and 48 teachers. Specifically, the project will provide children with regular and safe access to special education and recreational activities, in an effort to lower the levels of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of the children in the region. It will also support parents, and teachers in protecting and caring for children living in Um Al Nasser, Bureij, Qarara and Al Shoka villages.
Omnia Nour, Director of ROTA, said: "Our partnership with Save the Children Sweden is a major step towards the wider emergency child protection program. It is addressing communities in the north and east borders of the Gaza Strip with Israel, that are most affected by military violence. We will work together to eliminate the conflict consequences on children's lives, using a community-based approach in order to create protected learning environments and ensure a safe and healthy development into adulthood."
With the support of the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, ROTA and SCS will jointly establish 16 SAfEE, kindergartens and community centers in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 48 newly graduated teachers will be recruited and trained to teach the new Palestinian National Curriculum using 'Active Learning Methodologies', in order to provide quality education and bolster a positive and supportive relationship with the children.
The project will also involve active community participation; Oriented towards the recovery of children with physical or psychological trauma, Community Based Organisations and Child Protection Committees will conduct bi-monthly visits to children in the SAfEE so as to identify those in need of professional care and provide them with appropriate assistance through an established referral system.
The Gaza Strip has over 1.5 million inhabitants, with 53% of the population being children. Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000, children living in the Gaza Strip have continuously witnessed death and fear; more than 560 children have died due to clashes, air and ground attacks, random shooting and related incidents. The rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Gaza has gone up from 10% in 1999 to 39% during the Second Intifada and alarmingly to 70% in 2007. Moreover, approximately 90% of the children have experienced the loss of a friend or family member due to the ongoing violence.
Sanna Johnson, Director and Regional Representative of Save the Children Sweden, said: "This project with ROTA is very significant as it is providing quality education for children in safe and protected areas and reaching out to the most vulnerable groups of children who are suffering from the present situation in Gaza."
"Over the last decade, we have worked tirelessly to provide quality education and protection for children living in North Africa the Middle East region. This project in the Gaza Strip is a further reaffirmation of our commitment to improving the lives of children in conflict areas," Johnson added.
Save the Children Sweden is part of the International Save the Children Alliance, which works in 120 countries worldwide to help children achieve a happy, healthy and secure childhood. The alliance secures and protects children's rights to food, shelter, health care, education and freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation.
ROTA's partnership with SCS is a major step towards the promotion of education in conflict areas, commemorating ROTA's efforts for the improvement of the children's lives in Asia and the Middle East.
