Help the Children

Recent Events Media Course Personal Identity Workshop A brief summary of events in 2004 Mothers Day in Palestine RTI Club organizes a Ramadan breaking of the fast A Day in the Sun for Bethlehem's Children International Day of the Palestinian Child

Mothers Day in Palestine In Palestine, Mother's Day is celebrated on the first day of spring, and to honor the many mothers in the Bethlehem community Holy Land Trust's (HLT) Remember the Innocents (RTI) youth club organized visits to three different locations in Bethlehem. The goal was to honor Palestinian mothers and show appreciation for the work they do. The RTI club planned to bring snacks, cakes, refreshments, and flowers to these mothers in honor of the work that they have done in their homes, communities, and workplaces. RTI has taken the initiative to let mothers know that their work is valued by the community and they wanted to show their gratitude for the hard work they do, especially when living under situations of Occupation and high stress that can make their work even harder. In the morning the RTI club went to visit some mothers in the Arab Rehabilitation Society of Beit Jala and the Holy Family Hospital. The mothers visited in the Arab Rehabilitation Society have suffered injuries and illness that have required hospitalization and rehabilitation and have kept them from their children and/or work for some time. This visit was an emotional experience for RTI members, many of whom felt pain for these mothers who were suffering from injury. RTI members visited mothers in their rooms personally bringing them flowers in honor of Eid al-Um (Mother's Day). The last event of the day was a visit to the Lajee community center in the Aida Refugee Camp. There was a small celebration there to honor the mothers that was also in coordination with some planned activities by children from the camp. Awni Jubran thanked the mothers for their work and explained why RTI decided to plan this event. The children from Aida read poems to the mothers in both English and Arabic and also performed traditional Palestinian Debkah dancing. There were over 25 mothers from Aida there along with their children leaving the community center packed with people. The event was enjoyable; there was plenty of food and fun for all those involved.