COVID19: Education & Food for Palestinian Children

Summer has come to an end, which means its back to school time again!

This year, we're celebrating with a like drive on Facebook. For the next 29 days one dollar will be donated to TYO for each new like of the TYO profile page! Please help us reach our goal of 1,000 new likes by liking our page and sharing it with your friends.

This session we welcome Megan, Mary, Tommy and Lila for the Fall 2012 session. To prepare for their first day of classes today, last week they went through a rigorous but exciting orientation.

Last week’s orientation was packed with many different activities, including: lessons on culture and life in Nablus, professionalism and time management training with TYO Center Director Humaira, a debriefing on TYO’s impact on disadvantaged children women in Nablus with Psychosocial Program Manager Suhad Jabi Masri, exercises on how to foster trust and teamwork with volunteers with whom they will be co-teaching, and to end the week a gorgeous hike through Wadi Qelt near Jericho. After a week of new information and training the interns are all set for their first day of class today. Stay tuned for updates on how the first day of Fall 2012 kicked off, but for now please help me in welcoming our newest interns!

Assessing Refugee Needs to Improve Our Programs

As summer is heating up, so are TYO's efforts to create the best possible programs for disadvantaged women and children in Nablus. One way we are achieving this goal is through our commitment to identifying and meeting the needs of the community. 

“I can clearly see in my students’ work the need to create a safe, welcoming space in my classroom where students feel that they can have fun learning and thinking critically about the world around them through artwork. Insh’Allah, I can make this happen.” -Hannah, TYO Intern, Nablus

Last week TYO released its Community Needs Assessment, a yearlong study to assess the needs of the four refugee camps and other underprivileged communities TYO serves. Partners and representatives from the public and private sectors were invited to share and discuss the results, which were compiled from over 400 individuals using diverse methods. These results give TYO teachers and interns insight into the needs of different age groups, such as room to play or better computer literacy, to help them tailor their programs and have an even greater impact. This assessment will help TYO improve its programming, but more importantly, it illustrated the impact we are already having. Our core child program gives children the creative play space they need, and our women’s group programs offer both respite and opportunity for moms. Interns also remarked that the findings emphasized the link between mothers and children, reinforcing the power of TYO’s multigenerational strategy and the impact that its programs have on families throughout Nablus. With your continued support, we can continue to bring these families the best educational and recreational programming to keep them happy and healthy.

Welcome New Interns!

As TYO’s students are getting into the full swing of summer, so are our newest interns! Meet Sarah, Hilary, Jay, Mitch, Mary-Jo, and Hannah! From California to Connecticut, they’ve come from across the country to improve the lives of women and children in Palestine’s most disadvantaged areas. After just a few short weeks, they’ve been adjusting to life in Palestine, studying and integrating our Community Needs Assessment, and realizing first-hand the value of the resources TYO provides. With backgrounds and interests as diverse as the women and children they’ll be working with, we’re sure they’ll be making amazing contributions both to TYO and to the Nablus community. We also recently welcomed three new interns at our administrative headquarters in Washington, DC: Elly, Maddie, and Rachel. Welcome everyone!

Links:

• Tomorrow's Youth Organization Website
• Tomorrow's Youth Organization Facebook