 | PalestineConnect works in the Palestinian refugee camps of Bureij, Rafah and Maghazi. We help disadvantaged children in Gaza by providing them a safe environment in which to take free IT-related courses.
The situation in Gaza is much worse since Israel’s three week military intervention in the winter of 2008 - 2009. Charities such as our really need your support especially after Israel’s 2008/2009 military incursion into Gaza. For information on Gaza, the Occupied Palestinian Territories , giving to charities working in Gaza, donating money to disadvantaged children in Palestinian refugee camps then PalestineConnect can provide many insights. PalestineConnect is a registered charity that operates community-led centres for children in the Gaza Strip (We also have a directory of NGOs and charities that offer services in Gaza). It provide free educational services to Palestinian children in the Gaza strip. It supports disadvantaged children and young adults in Gaza. If you want to donate something to Gaza, consider PalestineConnect. |
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PalestineConnect's centre in the Rafah refugee camp was opened in 2004. It is the second of our three centres. This camp, in the far south of the Gaza strip, has seen perhaps the most pronounced problems of all of the Palestinian refugee camps arising from Israel's ongoing occupation (see background information for more context).
In the words of the centre's co-ordinator, Mohamed Dokhan
"Rafah Centre was established in February 2004 with seven computers. The centre and the camp are next to the Egyptian boarder, some 40kn south of Gaza city. The centre has been benefited enormously from the support of the Saïd Foundation. Since the beginning, we took the initiative in coordination with schools, parents and local institutions. The center offers training activities to hundreds of people and tens of NGO’s in the Rafah refugee camp. Thus, NGO’s and people of Rafah are highly appreciated the role of the centre in serving the community. We often provide UNRWA teachers and other staff members with vocationally relevant training."
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The Rafah centre runs over 100 courses per year, it offers 10 regular courses which consist of between 12 and 24 taught hours. During the last year (November 2008 to November 2009) almost 1,400 children aged 18 and under successfully completed free IT-related courses at this centre. In addition a further 362 adult refugees from the camp also completed computer related courses (the majority of the latter cohort either work in UNRWA schools or for other NGOs that operate in the Rafah refugee camp vicinity). |
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Total number of beneficiaries under 16
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1,095
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of the 1,095, those classified as disabled were
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63
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Total number of beneficiaries between 16 and 18
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292
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of the 292, those classified as disabled were
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4
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As with all centres, the Rafah centre runs a selection of regular courses multiple times during the year and a wide range of ad hoc courses that meet a particular demand. For example it regularly sets up bespoke courses for UNRWA teachers and teaching assistants in the camp. |
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Introduction to Computing
12 hours in duration | frequency: monthly
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This is the initial course all beneficiaries, who have not had prior individual access to a computer take. It covers the basics including creating and saving various types of documents, navigating the Windows operating system and setting up an email [Gmail] account.
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Access Database
15 hours in duration | frequency: monthly
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This course is going to be reworked to have a greater focus on online (user-interactive) databases. Access for off-line use will become part of a new course that the instructors in Rafah are devising. This forthcomming course 'Account keeping and Report writing' will be vocationally orientated and incorporate elemets of Word and Excel.
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Internet User & PowerPoint
12 hours in duration | frequency: monthly
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This course is set to be overhauled (Powerpoint will be merged with the 'Excel & Word' course and this one will focus on Web 2.0 aspects of internet usage. There is likely to be a greater emphasis on blogs and other social netwoking mediums. The duration of this course is also likely to increase, from its current 12 hours to 18 hours.
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English for Specific Purposes
24 hours in duration | frequency: 6 times a year
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This course is very popular with the older beneficiaries. This is for two reasons very high unemployment rates - a greater understanding of practical English is considered to improve one's chances of finding employment - and, because of years of Israeli occupation and military incursions, many beneficiaries missed out on a considerable number of schooling hours.
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Number of networked printers
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3
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Number of digital cameras
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2
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Disabled access features
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Several members of staff have been provided with specialised training with respect to teaching and assisting disabled children (audio-visual and physical). And with the kind assistance of the Saïd Foundation (see our partners section) the Rafah computer-aided learning centre has a specially designed bathroom and a ramped entrance for easy wheelchair access.
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"...In 2008, the occupied Palestinian territory continued to experience the most
dramatic developments in the Agency’s area of operations. In the Gaza Strip, the year began and ended with major conflicts."
2008 UNRWA report
This PDF document is 154kb in size, click to view it now, or right-click and select 'save as' to store it on your computer's hard drive. |
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In the words of UNRWA:
"Rafah Camp is located in the south of Gaza, near the Egyptian border. The camp was established in 1949 to house 41,000 refugees. At that time, it was one of the largest and most densely populated of the eight refugee camps of the Gaza Strip."
All of the following information is based on 2008 data:
Rafah's refugee population:
- With a total population of 173,006 people, Rafah houses 16.12 per cent of Gaza’s total refugee population.
UNRWA educational facilities in Rafah:
- UNRWA operates 40 schools in 23 school buildings in the camp, 21 elementary and 13 preparatory.
- 17 of the 23 school buildings are run on a double shift basis.
- Enrollments in the current academic year total 32,634
- The total number of teachers is 1178, 597 female teachers and 581 male teachers.
UNRWA relief and social services in Rafah:
- A total of 3,393 families (15,618 people) residing in the camp are eligible for relief assistance under the Agency’s Social Safety Net programme.
- 1,305 families (10,587 people) are classified as abjectly poor and receive Family Income Supplements.
Maps of Gaza
Both open in seperate windows.
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This PDF document is 200kb in size, click to view it now, or right-click and select 'save as' to store it on your computer's hard drive. |
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This JPEG image is 487kb in size, click to view it now, or right-click and select 'save as' to store it on your computer's hard drive. |
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PalestineConnect currently operate computer-aided learning centres in three of the Gaza Strip's most disadvantaged refugee camps. Around 3,000 children and young adults benefit from these centres each and every year.
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