More than
300 people - children and adults - have been benefiting from
the workshops and classes in Al-Rowwad during the past 2 months.
(for photos of the activities, click on the Image Gallery
button on the left.)
English
classes: 2 groups of children, 2 groups of men and women.
Lectures were presented by Mona Sadek, a volunteer from Egypt
for one month.
French
Classes: 2 groups of children, 2 groups of men and women.
Lectures were presented by Cecile and Marie-Albert from France
for 2 weeks in July, then by Claire Thérét and
her daughter Léa Lauvray for more than 2 weeks during
august. Still continuing by AbdelFattah Abu-Srour.
Hebrew
classes: 2 groups of adults since July, and still going
on, presented by Ms. M. Abu-Srour
Computer
training: 4 groups of children, 4 groups of men and women.
Presented by Samar Eddibs. (one group of adults trained by Adnan
Ajarma)
Drawing:
4 workshops for children, presented by, Samar Eddibs, Anwar
Eddibs and Iyad Obeid
Dabka
(Palestinian folkloric dance): Two groups of 20 boys and
girls each (one 8-12 years old, and the other 12 – 16 years
old) have been under training since mid-July. 15 have been selected
as the center’s performing troupe.
Drama
workshops: Two groups of 20 boys and girls each (one 8-12
years old, and the other 12 – 16 years old) have been under
training since mid-July.
Theatre
training (Continuous program):20 children consisting the
official troupe of AL-Rowwad.
Medical
Days: during the times of crisis, the center was always
transformed into an emergency clinic, because of absence of
a clinic from the camp. However, since beginning of July, the
center was mainly open for cultural activities because of the
withdrawal of Israeli occupation army from Bethlehem and the
camps. But in the same time, in august, in collaboration with
medical relief, Al-Rowwad have organized a medical day in the
center where people come to consult generalists or specialist
doctors and take drugs free of charge.
Reception
of many international groups: at different times of the
year, Al-Rowwad receives the visit of many internationals and
accompanies them in the camp and sometimes in different regions.
Women
Job Creation project: As a cultural center interested on
highlighting the role of the woman in our society as a producing
power equal, if not superior to the man’s, Al-Rowwad began
this project, starting with embroidery, in collaboration with
Jean-Claude Ponsin from Solidarité Paris 18 and association
Palestine-Anjou, but we wouldn’t stop there. Actually,
Al-Rowwad tries to find funding for this project which would
include workshops in sewing, cocking, pastry, preserving home-made
food, and marketing this production. In the project, providing
equipment for women so that the could be independent afterwards,
like offering them sewing machines.
Students
sponsoring: We had in the camp as else where, excellent
students who do not have the possibility to pay for their study,
specially first year students. So, as a cultural center, and
considering that culture is way to work against violence, silence,
ignorance and war, and that it is more important to help an
excellent student and give him the chance to go to the university
than to provide him with a basket of food, we started fund raising
for them. Actually, about 8 students have been helped totally
or partially, while waiting for donations. Help in fund raising
is provided by Riad Hamad (www.pcwf.org)
and Marlyn Tadros (www.virtualactivism.org)
with the help of Holy Land Trust and Association Fraternité
Internationale.
Visit
to the neighboring activity center: A first visit was done
to Inad theatre in Beit Jala, for a collective workshop for
children.
Picnics:
Due to the huge stress and non healthy violent atmosphere that
children are exposed to, a time to relax is needed. The children
were accompanied to 2 swimming pools in the region: Al-Zaytouna
in Beit Jala, and another in Beit Sahour.
Reception
of American Playwrights: In a new project of possible future
collaboration between Palestinian and American playwrights,
six American playwrights made the trip to Palestine to meet
with Palestinian theatre. This trip was organized by the American
playwright Naomi Wallace, and Palestinian playwright AbdelFattah
Abu-Srour, director of Al-Rowwad Theatre, and coordinated by
Connie Julian. It came after an initial visit by the American
Playwright Naomi Wallace and the British Director David Gothard,
accompanied by AbdelFattah Abu-Srour and made the first contacts
with some of the Palestinian theatres. The visiting playwrights
included Tony Kushner, Lisa Schlesinger, Kia Corthron, Robert
OHara, the Palestinian American Playwright Betty Shamieh and
Naomi Wallace. The American playwrights have visited “Ashtar
Theatre” in Ramallah, “Deaf Theatre” in Maghar-
playwright and director Adnan Tarabshi and playwright and director
Reyad Massarwa, “Inad Theatre” in Beit Jala, “Theatre
Day Productions” in Hebron and Gaza and “Al-Rowwad
Cultural and Theatre Training Center” for children in Aida
Camp-Bethlehem. The meetings focused on possibilities of future
collaborations and exchanges between the American and Palestinian
Playwrights and theatre, and seeking the means to realize these
possibilities.
New computers:
With the help of Association Interculturelle CARREFOUR and
Association Fraternité International, Hotel de France
at Angers-France, Paola Cilloco and friends- Italy, Al-Rowwad
has been able to purchase 9 new computers (Pentium 4, 2000 MHz)
as replacement of computers destroyed or disappeared during
the Israeli vandalism in Al-Rowwad center as well as those which
we are not able to repair.
