Psycho-social support for children in Palestine

Dear friends,

Because of you, children across the West Bank are learning that they do not have to carry the weight of these times alone.

Over the past three months, ASHTAR Theatre's trainers completed a new cycle of drama-based psychosocial support for young people aged 12 to 16, working in schools and community spaces in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh area. Amid ongoing instability, displacement, and uncertainty about the future, the need for safe, structured, non-medical spaces where children can breathe, play, and speak has only grown. We went where access was possible and where schools and community partners were asking for us.

This cycle reached 96 participants across three locations: the village council in Ein Siniya (30 participants), the Latin Patriarchate School in Deir Al-Latin, Birzeit (34 participants), and Jabal Al-Najmeh, Star Mountain (32 participants), where the work was designed specifically for and with young people with disabilities. The sessions were led by our trainers Sasha Asbah, Nawsan Qawasmeh, and David Tannous, with Tamer Tafesh leading the inclusive group at Jabal Al-Najmeh. In each location we divided participants into smaller groups, so that every child had room to take part, be noticed, and be heard.

In a circle, children move, play, and create together. Through movement and imagination games, role-play, improvisation, and exercises that invite them to speak about themselves, they begin to release the tension their bodies hold and to put words to feelings that usually stay unspoken. Along the way they practise the skills that steady a young life: communication, teamwork, self-confidence, and healthier ways to handle stress. Often the games did quiet, important work beneath the surface; boys and girls who hesitated to work together at first discovered, through a shared task, that cooperation matters more than who your friends already are.

Ein Siniya showed us what consistency can build. A group that began as a room of individuals slowly became, in the children's own words, "one group." They grew more confident week by week, some kept practising at home or with friends between sessions, and several made new friendships that hadn't existed before. At the final session, the students surprised our trainers with a handmade notebook thanking them - and a question we hear often: when can we do this again? At Jabal Al-Najmeh, the group took to the work with such energy that our team now hopes to develop a short theatre piece together with them.

We also want to be honest with you, because you are our partners. Not every group was easy. With some older classes, particularly where sessions had been interrupted during the war and trust had to be rebuilt almost from scratch, a handful of meetings was not enough to reach every young person. Our trainers came away with a clear conviction and a concrete plan: this work goes deepest when it runs across a full school year, in small and steady groups, rather than in short bursts. That lesson sits at the heart of what we're asking of you below.

None of this happens without the people who lead the circle. The work is joyful, and it is also demanding, and our trainers carry a great deal. We continue to invest in supporting them and in equipping teachers and local partners with drama-based psychosocial tools, so that this support does not disappear when a workshop cycle ends. Sustainability remains central to everything we do.

Thanks to the generosity of supporters around the world, we have now raised $134,888 from 1,168 donations toward our $200,000 goal. This support is what allowed us to open this new cycle and keep working under very difficult conditions.

But reaching more children, and staying with them long enough to make a lasting difference, depends on stability. One-off gifts let us begin in a new school. Monthly gifts let us stay. Right now, only nine supporters give every month and if even a few more of you joined them, we could turn short cycles into the year-long, small-group work our trainers know children need. Regular support means a child can count on the same safe space week after week, lets us plan a full year of work with more teachers, and lets us respond quickly when a new school or community asks for help.

When a child steps into our circle, we make a promise: you are seen, you are heard, you are not alone. With your support, whether a single gift or a monthly commitment, we can keep that promise, and keep it for more children who need it now.

Thank you for standing with us.

With gratitude from Ramallah,
The ASHTAR Theatre Team