The West Bank-

Background-

• In 1948, between 750,000 and 900,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes. These refugees subsequently settled in camps administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
• Approximately, one quarter of the Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank now live among 19 recognized refugee camps, and the rest live in nearby towns and villages. The West Bank has the largest number of refugee camps in all of UNRWA’s five countries of operation. Some camps are located next to major towns and others are situated in rural areas
• In 2002, an eight-meter high, 703 kilometer long wall was built around the West Bank. This has resulted in severe restrictions on movement, closures and curfews, which has severely affected Palestinian access to employment, health services and education and has contributed to the declining socioeconomic situation in the camps and surrounding areas
• Ongoing violence and political instability in the West Bank has had a significant negative impact on the development of children and youth for generations. Frequent violence disrupts their education and impedes access to health care. Curfews, closures and movement restrictions hinder their access to extracurricular activities, which are essential to the development of life skills and healthy child development. As such, after school activities, health education and knowledge of child rights is lacking in Right To Play target communities

What we do-

Program Goal: Improve the physical and psychosocial health, youth leadership, child rights awareness and participation of girls in sport and play activities, and to build capacity in Monitoring and Evaluation methodologies among refugee and disadvantaged Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

Program Objectives:

• To promote physical and psychosocial health among children and youth
• To engage youth in their communities
• To promote community awareness of child rights
• To encourage acceptance of girls’ participation in sport and play activities in Right To Play target communities
• To provide opportunities for community capacity building in Monitoring and Evaluation

So Far-

Since 2003, Right To Play has implemented programming in project locations in the occupied Palestinian territory, specifically, in the West Bank, reaching a steadily increasing number of beneficiaries each year. Following the principle of inclusion, the Right To Play project has had particular success with respect to inclusion of children and youth living with disabilities, who comprise five per cent of all project beneficiaries. In 2007, due to beneficiary demand, project activities expanded to include locations in the north, south and rural areas. This has resulted in strong support for Right To Play in rural communities, as most NGOs focus program implementation in urban centers.
Building on the successes of programming since project inception, Right To Play has customized sport and play activities to better meet the needs of program beneficiaries, as identified by the beneficiaries themselves. Right To Play introduced youth leadership programming in 2008 to promote youth engagement and leadership development. In 2009, the Right To Play program in the West Bank will continue to address the increased need for psychosocial support activities and reorientation of youth engagement toward community participation.