Physical Health Palestine Project #55935

Big Ride 2022: Cycling for Children in Palestine

by Middle East Children's Alliance

Jul 31, 2023

VIDEO: Summer sports & leadership camps for girls in Gaza

By Josina Shields-Stromsness - MECA Program Director

Learn to bike in Gaza!

We are thrilled to share this video of an exciting program for Palestinian girls in Gaza that your donations funded!

Please take a few minutes to watch the video and hear directly from a few of the girls: https://youtu.be/F9SvBD9uh1Y

Somaya, 14, living in Khuza'a village says, "I dreamed of riding a bicycle and when I came to this camp, my dream came true."

More than 300 young Palestinian women are enjoying summer camps in Khuza'a, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun. These are marginalized border areas in the occupied Gaza Strip. With support from The Big Ride for Palestine, MECA built community parks and playgrounds with cycling tracks in two of these villages.

These camps are considered the first of their kind and specialize in empowering girls by giving them daily trainings in sports, arts and crafts, life skills and other activities. In addition the girls take part in educational workshops on nutrition, mental and physical health.

This project is funded by an amazing group that believes in our cause and in achieving justice wherever it is needed.

Thank you to The Big Ride for Palestine for your efforts for the girls of Palestine.

Meanwhile, The Big Ride for Palestine 2023 sets off later this week in South Wales! Check out the latest newsletter to find out how you can be involved: https://mailchi.mp/thebigride4palestine/big-ride-2023-almost-here

Links:

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Mar 22, 2023

Winter camps for Palestinian girls & women in Gaza

By Josina Shields-Stromsness - MECA Program Director

Cycling at Beit Lahia Tadamon Park

The 2022 Big Ride for Palestine is funding a unique sports, mental health, and leadership program for girls and women in Gaza. In January, the program kicked off with winter camps for 300 girls and 150 women in Gaza. They cycled, played football, practiced yoga, attended workshops, and organized volunteer days in the community to improve their mental and physical health and develop their self-confidence.

The winter camps are supported by The Big Ride for Palestine and two of the project locations are sports fields and cycling tracks also constructed with support from The Big Ride for Palestine. Thank you cyclists for your support and solidarity!

Cycling in Khuza'a Tadamon Park

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Nov 28, 2022

Rides for Palestine in UK & Gaza!

By Josina Shields-Stromsness - MECA Program Director

Children in Gaza join a solidarity ride on July 29

While hundreds of cyclists took to the streets for this year's Big Ride for Palestine from Derby to Manchester, children in Gaza also hopped on their bikes in a sister ride.

These rides were organized in Khuza'a and Beit Lahia where funds from The Big Ride for Palestine has enabled MECA to build beautiful cycling tracks, purchase bikes, and offer cycling lessons for children and youth, especially girls.

Here is what some of the participants in Gaza had to say:

“Thank you to The Big Ride for giving a chance for children and women in our marginalized village the space to practice sports and cycling by fixing our football field and building this track.”

-Siwar

"One of the dreams of girls in the Gaza Strip is to play sports and ride bicycles, but they can't do that because there is no place for them.

We are now in Beit Lahia which is a marginalized area in northern Gaza. Through the funding from The Big Ride, we were able to make a football field and cycling track. Last year, we built a full playground in Khuza’a funded through donations from The Big Ride. Khuza’a is considered one of the most marginalized areas in Gaza Strip.

Your support has returned hope to thousands of marginalized Palestinian girls and children who are deprived of many of their rights, including the right to play and exercise.

All the love, respect and appreciation for this inspiring team—The Big Ride team—who is fighting for us. It is enough for us to feel that there are people on the other side of the world who are in solidarity with us and want to help us. Your solidarity and support gives us a positive feeling and recognizes that we are not numbers, we are a human beings like any other human being in the world."

-Ghada Mansi, MECA team member in occupied Gaza

We look forward to continuing our work supporting Palestinian children with the solidarity and support of The Big Ride for Palestine riders and the more than 1000 people who have donated to this fundraiser this year!

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