Letters from Gaza
August 1, 2006
All Colleagues and Friends,
Be ready to hear different story from Gaza. I wish that you love it as I did.
For the first time QPYP in Gaza decided to have a festival ad the end of current Public Achievement cycle. One month ago we felt that it might be hard to do it as the Israeli invasion into Gaza was starting. Last year the closure and division of Gaza into three parts before Israeli disengagement made the celebration impossible.
This time we found that young people did great job. About 95% of youth groups have completed their initiatives successfully. Within these circumstances we decided to organize the festival and we scheduled it for July 27th. The President Mahmod Abbas declared that July 26th will be the day of referendum and we couldn’t do it after this event. We had to find proper time considering the situation - problems, suffering and internal fighting. In the beginning we decided to keep two dates as options, July 6th or July 27th, and see what happens. We were very worried knowing that this work needs time, especially in this kind of situation. We went on with our preparations and once the referendum was canceled we decided on July 27th as the date of the festival.
We called for committees to assist in planning of the work. Young people, coaches and partners were very motivated and worked hard with us to develop the plan for all programs for the festival. QPYP office in Gaza was like a beehive. About 50 persons worked on different things and practiced their parts. This work went on for days even with the problem with electricity, which had the most effect on production of the publications that were need for the festival. We worked long hours during the day at the office and sometimes at night in order to be able to take advantage of some electricity.
Finally the Festival day came. Even that morning we were worried since we heard that about 25 people killed in Gaza city hours before the festival was to start. But we were about to see another face of Gaza. About 800 people came to participate in the Festival.
It is not easy to explain in words what happen on Thursday July 27th. This date will be in my mind for long time and I am sure hundreds will keep it in theirs as well. It was wonderful - very organized, successful, people came from many organizations, universities, schools, ministries, youth organizations, families with children - everything was great. We made sure to let people know about the Public Achievement and youth engagement in this program. Every aspect of the festival was planned to tell a story about something. The program included exhibitions, presentations, stories from coaches and participants, PA choir, art expression, etc. I can say that it was a new birthday for Public Achievement in Gaza. This success will put more responsibility on us to do even better.
I hope that you enjoy this story as we enjoyed the Festival.
Thank you for your support.
Amal and Gaza staff
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