To the Children of Palestine

Walking through the streets of Nablus, it is difficult not to notice all the children. There are children playing soccer and cycling in the streets, children selling watermelon and cucumbers in the Old City, and children laughing with friends on steps to pass the time.

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Confidence is key

During my time at TYO I have learnt a lot; and I learnt the most during the craft activities in my classes. Teaching grade 1 during the summer camp meant I was able to dedicate lots of the time to simple activities that would help the children engage with the topics we were discussing.

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Walking the Peace Path

“Use your words.” It’s a phrase I heard countless times as a kid, and one that naturally slipped into my vocabulary as an adult. Yet after the first few weeks of teaching an energetic class of second graders at TYO, I started to feel like a broken record repeating this adage of the past. Every accidental nudge, misunderstanding, or interpersonal issue snowballed into a larger conflict

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Around the World at TYO

For any of us who have travelled, the excitement and diversity of our world never ceases to amaze and drive us. However, not everyone has this privilege. This realization immediately motivated the core focus of my summer course’s design: I wanted to share how exciting and different the world around us is, in a way that fosters my Grade 5 students’ self-awareness and curiosity.

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Winning Over the Fear of Losing

Every second grader hates to lose. Building a healthy relationship with defeat is not easy for adults, much less for 7-year-olds. At TYO’s summer program, youth learn critical socioemotional skills through play. This involves lots of engagement, excitement, and fun, but with games also comes the possibility of losing.

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Whiteboard or shovel?

After a typical day in my first-grade summer class, students leave for home with muddy shoes and dirt under their fingernails, because they have just spent an hour submerging their hands in flower pots, smelling and tasting herbs, and inspecting all the curves and dents of a flower bulb or a seed. We have ditched pencils for watering cans and notebooks for piles of soil.

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Economic Empowerment Through Laughter

During my time at TYO, I had the unique opportunity to work with the Youth Rehabilitation Through Entrepreneurship Program (YREP). This program plays a pivotal role in combating unemployment in Palestine. Last year, Palestine’s unemployment rose 5.4%, from 24.5% in 2017 to 29.1% by the end of 2018.[1] In a society where job opportunities are scarce…

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Humans of Nablus 45

"I find the seminars in the Women's Empowerment and Parenting Program very helpful and I have learned a lot from them. In my time at TYO, I attended seminars on human rights, child development, women's rights, and law. This was valuable information for me and I proudly share this knowledge with the community around me.

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