Sharing the gift of fun with the schoolchildren of Lakia
By Moshe Ben Simon, Area Manager, Israel
Since 2009, Grand Circle Foundation has been working with four schools in Lakia, Israel, in an effort to promote the conservation of Bedouin culture and advancing women’s rights within the Bedouin society.
At the Al Awada School, Grand Circle Foundation supports a project—called “Being an Inventor in a Green World”—designed to raise environmental awareness amongst Bedouin children who have never left their village. And at the Al Bayrouni School, sports activities are the focus of the Foundation’s efforts. Here, donations enable children to participate in sports activities their school and village cannot provide, including swimming lessons, capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian blend of dance and martial arts), and tennis lessons.
About 700 Bedouin children from the Lakia region were invited for a day of fun at the Al Ahad School in September.
This past September, regional associates in Israel (including 15 Trip Leaders), along with ten Bedouin teachers from the Al Ahad School, and 700 Bedouin children from the Lakia area, participated in a community service project in Lakia, Israel in celebration of the start of the school year and the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Because of their sheer excitement for the event, the schoolchildren arrived early. The Trip Leaders and regional associates were so happy about the children’s enthusiasm that they decided to let the children help prepare for the event. This way, Arab-speaking children and teachers worked side-by-side with Hebrew-speaking Trip Leaders and regional associates—communicating in a language that was a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic, with a little bit of English.
Rented playground equipment and activities enabled the Lakia schoolchildren to enjoy some physical education.
Our day of service provided the schoolchildren with seven pieces of rented outdoor playground equipment and several activity stations, like ring toss. Each playground piece and activity was led in tandem by a Bedouin teacher and an Israeli Trip Leader who provided an explanation for the children on how to use that particular piece, or participate in the activity.
Regional associates from Israel—including 15 Trip Leaders, and Bedouin teachers helped to lead the activities.
The children invited to the day’s activities not only included students from the Al Ahad School, but all of the Bedouin children living in the village—including those from other schools in Lakia. The children were so happy that many didn’t want to leave! This served as a small example of how Grand Circle Foundation’s presence is helping the village and really shows how we can give back to the places we visit—especialy in the past two years in Lakia.
Learn more about the work of Grand Circle Foundation by visiting their website at www.grandcirclefoundation.org.