The Popular Art Centre is now selling the drawings and artworks of the children from the camps for $25, so that people across the world may appreciate the creativity existing inside these young minds. This money then goes directly to fund more arts activities inside the refugee camps across Palestine.

Orders can be made by email, and will be posted to you anywhere in the world (payment details below, under "How To Help'). So buy a picture, as a gift to yourself or a freind. You will be buying a child's dream, and thereby supporting their creative future.

Since September 29, 2000, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by the Israeli military and settlers. The entire structure of the fledgling Palestinian state has also been severely disrupted by the closure of checkpoints and access roads between Palestinian cities by the Israeli Defense Forces. As a result almost all cultural and social activities in the Palestinian Authority areas have ceased and the school and after-school activities of Palestinian children have been severely curtailed. As children and youth are amongst the most affected by the present conflict (in terms of both casualties and overall psychological trauma), the influence of the hostilities on the Palestinian young has been prodigious.

The Popular Art Center is responding with an urgent project to alleviate these traumatic social conditions. The Just For Kids' programs are designed to provide Palestinian children with creative activities and a structured environment through which to express themselves positively.

Already, thousands of children from refugee camps, towns, villages and impoverished areas have been brought in off the streets and away from the conflict, free of charge. With your help, thousands more will be given the chance to see the world differently for a couple of hours.

Each Just For Kids session is two hours in length and involves 40-50 children and two teachers from different art forms. The groups are divided in half and work with each teacher around a similar theme, exchanging art forms and teachers after the first hour. The activities include drama, dance, music and visual arts.
To alleviate the frustration and boredom brought on by the current conflict, as well as giving them a sense of achievement, these fun creative sessions free-up the children's inhibitions and give them the tools to communicate their ideas and feelings in a constructive way. We are also training hundreds of local teachers, artists and volunteers in creative workshop techniques.

The activity sessions are based on four basic ideas:

Creativity
The first aim of the session is for the children to learn how to create their own ideas through the art form, rather than simply learning and re-iterating phrases. After exploring the most basic principles (dynamics, rhythm etc), they begin to form their own works of art, and prove to themselves that they do have something creative to offer their community in the way of songs, dances, performances and paintings.

Cooperation
Exercises in creative cooperation, either paired or working together in small groups to develop their ideas, helps them develop social relations toward a constructive goal, and re-inforces the idea that together they can achieve things.

Communication
Much of the activities involve the children paying attention to, and interpreting, each other's songs, acts, etc, so that they can feel satisfied that they have been heard, seen and understood.

Continuation
Many of the activities are in the form of fun games that the children can then replicate with their friends and families. This allows a two-hour session to influence many more afternoons with creative social activity.

"PAC-Just For Kids" Account # 603 951 Al-Bireh Branch # 9030 Arab Bank PLC Swiftcode: ARABPS22030

Or:

"Just For Kids" Account # 11316559 Sort Code 40 03 19 HSBC Bank

Popular Art Centre
P.O.Box: 3627, Al-Bireh
Palestine

Tel: + 972 2 2403891
Fax: + 972 2 2402851
E-mail: pac@palnet.com