Camp “I Have a Dream”
Camp “I Have A Dream” is a week-long summer and winter program for refugee youth between the ages of 12-16. The program focuses on teaching non-violence, leadership skills, and career development through the mediums of basketball, soccer, theater, poetry, dance, computer-based applications and journalism. To date, Camp “I Have A Dream” has reached over 300+ Palestinian youth in five refugee camps.
Purpose
The purpose of this program is twofold: to reach out and instill hope in young Palestinians in refugee camps, and provide positive outlets and methods for their ambitions to come to fruition. The camp's goal is to inspire youth to become agents of change in Palestinian society, and specifically the refugee camps, so that peace and stability can become a reality in their lives.
Structure
Camp "I Have a Dream" utilizes a five day structured day camp to empower Palestinian youth in different refugee camps so that they can become agents of change in Palestinian society. Based within local community centers and facilitated in part by community leaders, we establish a framework for engagement that centers around what community members can build together. From there, we coordinate and lead workshops with local artisans and youth development organizations that focus on creative expression and non-violent civic engagement.
Each day has a theme and a typical schedule looks like this:
- Day 1: Orientation, teamwork exercises in sports clinics and health education.
- Day 2: Building communication skills through facilitation practice and technology-based applications.
- Day 3: Promoting civic engagement through volunteerism and community service.
- Day 4: Encouraging creative and non-violent expression through theater, photography, art, and hip hop workshops.
- Day 5: Explaning avenues to pursue higher education and "Making Dreams a Reality" workshops; graduation and family-attended ceremony.
- Weekend: Fieldtrip and group-bonding activity
How We’re Different
There are several organizations working on the issue of youth education in Palestinian refugee camps, and other peace-based initiatives that bring together Palestinians and Israelis on trips to Europe and the United States. However, no other camps or programs currently exist that directly engage refugee youth as potential players in the peace process. Our summer camp synthesizes the work of several organizations into one summer camp that focuses on empowerment and active citizenship. By giving our campers avenues for self-expression, and supporting them as they realize their own power to build civil society, we support the maturation of a new voice in the next generation of Palestinian leaders.
