Palestine Deserves More

Building a Preschool in Palestine

Aida refugee camp. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Dominiek Benoot

Across the West Bank, children lack access to early childhood education. Uprising Theater is working with friends and fellow social justice activists at Lajee Center in Aida refugee camp to combat this disparity and build a preschool.

There is only one school within Aida camp, the Aida Basic Boys’ School, serving 400 students. This structure was built in 1951 and rehabilitated in 1996. As it abuts the 10-meter high Israeli separation wall, the school sits next to an Israeli military watchtower. Teargas canisters and bullet casings are often found strewn throughout the schoolyard following clashes between residents and Israeli occupation forces.

The other 1,200 students who live in Aida camp attend the UNRWA Coeducational School in Beit Jala, a nearby village. Every day on their way to and from school, these children must pass through checkpoints and experience daily traumas of military occupation. Recognizing this challenge, UNRWA employs psychological counselors at both schools.

NEVERTHELESS, CHILDREN PERSIST.

Children in Aida camp using the first community garden.

In 2003, the Israeli separation wall blocked access to an adjacent open natural space and recreational area once available to Aida camp residents. The Lajee Center, with help from local and international partners (including Uprising’s own Co-Artistic Director, Maren Rosenberg) responded to this problem by purchasing land through TABO. With residential support, they built a playground, soccer field, and community garden within the walls of the camp.

This critical, community-led solution is part of Lajee and 1for3’s work, but it alone is not enough. There is much more to be done to safeguard early childhood education and the right to play.

There are no early childhood preschools operated by UNRWA in Aida camp. This deficiency leaves children at young, vulnerable ages without access to social and intellectual development. It is also detrimental to the women of Aida. With limited childcare options, many women are unable to join or rejoin the workforce.

Access to education directly impacts the development of children as well as economic growth for young families. Our friends at 1for3 and Lajee Center are almost finished building Aida camp’s first preschool to provide early childhood education for needy families. We are thrilled to support them in their efforts to cross the financial finish line.   

The construction process alone has provided work for 30 people, together with supporting 140 family members. The materials used in the work - plaster, concrete, steel, fixtures, and fittings - are being purchased in the Bethlehem area to support local businesses. When the school opens in September of 2021, it will enroll 50 children, 20% of whom will receive scholarship assistance. The staff will include a school director, two teachers, two assistants, and a custodian.

This school will empower a new generation of Palestinian children, and we are so excited to see their futures unfold.

US College Campus Tour

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz

We are coupling this project with US-based initiatives, starting with a one-woman show and lecture series to tour between college campuses.

This one-woman show chronicles a young Jewish woman’s reckoning with power, privilege, Palestine, and Zionism. Blending humor and humanity, this piece creates a common vocabulary to spark serious conversations with students, faculty, and the collegiate community.

The post-show lecture and Q&A will be led by the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Uprising Theater, Iymen Chehade. His years of experience as a professor, specifically in teaching on the Palestinian Israeli Impasse, will assure that the conversations can go deep, stay grounded in facts, and provide resources for those interested in learning more.