News

PfP Builds Amphitheater at Mashjar Juthour

PfP is proud and excited to partner with Mashjar Juthour, “a natural reserve that provides much needed space for cultivating the trees of Palestine while also reminding our community of our very basic and necessary relationship to nature.” The land encompasses a large hill called Juthour, meaning roots, and it is through this space that the community is invited “to remember that we are a people of this land and our relationship to trees must become a more important part of today and our future.” PfP is sponsoring ongoing workshops that aim to connect children with local flora and to impart indigenous botanical knowledge. We also funded the construction of an amphitheater, which was recently showcased on Opening Day, with special family activities such as storytelling with well-known writer Maya Abu Al-Hayyat and performances by the vibrant dabke troupe

More good news . . .

William Sutcliffe, author of ‘The Wall’ (a novel about a young boy enchanted with a girl on the other side of the wall dividing Palestine and Israel), has also agreed to be a patron of our charity. Thank you so much William.

URGENT PRESS RELEASE

Playgrounds for Palestine, a Pennsylvania-based children’s rights organization, learned today that one of the play spaces it created in the Aida Refugee Camp was tear-gassed while it was full of children engaged in play. According to Al Jazeera Stream, Israel is the alleged culprit. Further, this is not the first time that Israeli military occupation forces have fired into the Aida refugee camp. On February 8, 2015, around 3:30 pm, Aida’s CCTV showed children, some clearly very young, playing on the slides, swings, and climbing structures when a tear gas canister was fired in their midst. The footage then shows chaos, as children run for cover and adults run into rescue them from harm. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=833091286734492 We deplore and condemn in the harshest terms this deliberate assault on children who continue to live under an illegal Israeli

Rest in Power, Sister…

It is with great sadness and shock that we learned of the passing of our dear friend Hiam Tabbarah Odds. All of us at PfP wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to Hiam’s family. Hiam had been battling cancer, but none of us knew it because she never slowed down from her fundraising for Gaza and fighting for Palestine. Hiam gave so much of herself to others and in particular to children. She was a mother, not only to her own children, but to also to the many children to whom she worked to bring hope and joy. Before her passing, Hiam was helping PfP raise funds for a project in Gaza. In honor

Made it to the Mt. Rainier Summit for PfP

Ahmed dedicated his climb to Playgrounds for Palestine and raised $1,325 for the construction of playgrounds in the occupied territories.  Summit elevation is 14,411 ft / 4,392 m!!

Dr Ahmed Alkhateeb Attempts Mt. Rainier for PfP

Dear Supporters of PfP, we are honored to have Dr. Ahmed Alkhateeb, currently a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University, attempt to climb Mt. Rainier to raise awareness and funds for Playgrounds for Palestine. Please consider sponsoring his upcoming climb. And forward this page to anyone else who might want to support Ahmed and his efforts. Go Ahmed, Go! http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/palestine/rainierclimb

PfP condemns vandalizing playgrounds anywhere

Playgrounds for Palestine condemns the vandalizing of a playground dedicated to the memory of Grace McDonnell, a 7-year old victim of the Shady Hook School massacre. Playgrounds are places of joy, refuge, and growth for children, the most vulnerable and innocent segment of any society. As an organization that serves traumatized children living under a brutal military occupation, we are particularly aware of what it means to violate the safe spaces of children. Our solidarity

Our Youngest Fundraisers!!

Meet the youngest members of our Playgrounds for Palestine fundraising team! Adam and Milan generously donated their birthday money – over $2,000!!!- to PfP so that Palestinian children living under military occupation could regain their right to play! PfP is proud to be honoring them at our March 29th Gala! Thank you Adam and Milan for your thoughtful gift!

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Phoenix Elementary in Gaza

We are excited to announce the launch of an initiative we’ve been working on for a while. PfP established a school in Gaza for grades 1-5. We’re in our third week now of operation and it’s amazing. The school is a mixture of traditional and non-traditional learning. The first few days were focused on getting to know each other, consulting with children about what they want to get out of the school, how they want to decorate the space, and assessing their skills and abilities. It was decided to name the school: Phoenix Elementary. مدرسةالعنقاء As you can see, the kids were over the moon to be in a classroom after their lives were turned upside

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This donation, our first to PfP, is to honor the children that see beyond conflict, and remind us to be ever present.