Westbank

For many years, SwissRelief has been supporting an educational facility in the West Bank with a kindergarten, elementary school and leisure center. Their commitment to reconciliation was made all the more relevant by the outbreak of the war. The school was expanded by one class in 2023. It offers an environment that promotes self-esteem and creativity in children and teaches them conflict resolution skills. The schools also distributed food vouchers to hundreds of needy families in their area. This not only enabled the families to buy food, but also ensured that many smaller stores were able to remain open.

Often, the supported children come from families in which there is constant ranting against the “evil others”. In contrast, the teachers, who themselves have Palestinian roots, live with an attitude of reconciliation. Through love and acceptance, seeds of hatred are stifled in the hearts of the children. The goal is a holistic, peace-promoting support of refugee children from kindergarten to graduation from school.

Young people are engaged after school until evening with social and sports activities. In afternoon classes, they can attend computer and English courses. Moreover, we conduct vocational orientation courses and accompany school graduates through their further vocational training.