Promoting Child Literacy in Palestine

One of my ultimate favorite projects to work with MECA on is Promoting Child Literacy in Palestine, since I was a little girl I was fascinated by books, the stories they tell, the friends they help me make, and the wonderful worlds I'm able to visit with each turn of a page. And as a Palestinian, Edward Said is my all-time favorite intellctual crush. Imagine having both of them in the same place in one of the closest places to my heart; Gaza. 

Two branches of the Edward Said Public Library (ESPL) are now open in Gaza – one in Beit Lahia and one in Gaza City. The Middle East Children’s Alliance is the Library’s U.S. partner and we are so happy to join this initiative started by Mosab Abu Toha. At the opening ceremony, Mariam Said, from her home in New York, shared with the crowd the most beautiful words, 

"Today we commemorate the 25th anniversary of Edward’s untimely death. We still mourn the terrible loss as we commemorate his extraordinary life and work. We are also celebrating the birth of the first Edward Said Library in the town of Beit Lahia, in Gaza, Palestine.

Edward had several deep passions to which we dedicated his life. His family, of course. The liberation of Palestine. And his love of books and music. English literature was the center of his professional life as a Comparative Literature Professor at Columbia University and he believed in the power of books. He was determined to share his love for and knowledge of literature with as many people as possible, especially the young Palestinians."

I have to admit, I'm always pleasantly surprised with how kids from different age groups get all excited and giddy sitting together in a circle listening to a story being told - that was the case last week. Two storytelling sessions were held for children in two different locations, Dheisheh Refugee Camp and Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. 

Tala and Maya are two women who share the pleasure of telling stories to little ones, and I was lucky enough to join these sessions. Storytelling is not just an art, but it's also a tool to help the children learn more, boost their self-confidence, and express themselves better while interacting with the stories being told. 

Maya, an author of children's books and nursery rhymes herself, went to al-Anwar Kindergarten in Dheisheh RC to share with them three of the stories that she and her team at The Palestine Writing Workshop produced. For the period of an hour, the children aged between 3-5 years old, were completely immersed in the activity. Not only them, but their mothers who were present, and the teachers at the kindergarten. 

Tala, the storyteller at Madaa Creative Center, sat down in a circle at Mada’s main library with children aged 7 - 14 years old telling them Palestinian folkloric stories. The children were sitting there gleefully waiting for the next thing to happen and connecting the dots of the story together. At the end of the session, that also included some other educational activities, all of the children took short stories with them to read on their own at their homes, share with families, and then come back the following week to play storytellers themselves.

“You see that look of excitement and eagerness in their eyes?” Tala told me as she was distributing the stories on them, “that’s what’s keeping us going every time. They need this, they want it, and they appreciate it.” And that’s why it’s important to continue supporting such projects and help make it bigger, more influential, and spread it across different locations.