Dar Assadaqa Update!!

Dar Assadaqa has been relatively quiet recently with school exams taking place but it doesn't mean that we haven't been busy though!

Karam enjoying a little ukulele lesson!

We are still giving English lessons most days at Dar Assadaqa and it has been a really fun experience. The lessons have been quite small but the locals who come in have been very enthusiastic and teach us new things everyday about culture and the humanitarian situation here. We usually just end up talking for the whole hour and I think that is the most useful thing that we can do. I really believe that it is great for the people here to practice there English with native speakers so that is a good motivator for me!

We are also in the process of interviewing the Dar Assadaqa staff about CADFA so that should be complete in the next few weeks and should give you guys a deeper insight into the people here which I hope is useful!

Mousa and Rob working hard on the visa applications

We have been very hard at work with the visa applications for the upcoming student and womens' visits to Camden meaning frequent trips to the British consulate in Jerusalem and a lot of phone calls and computer time! It is really important for us to get this right and we are taking it very seriously in order to make sure everyone can visit Camden.

The atmosphere here is good and we are keenly awaiting our new arrival Dan who will be with us in a weeks time. I'm sure he is going to greatly add to the team and come in with more great ideas.

From Dar Assadaqa, I hope you are all well and happy,

The CADFA Team

Happy 10 year anniversary Camden

Yesterday we celebrated 10 years of Camden and Abu Dis twinning links. We held an event at Al Quds university. The celebration included speeches from Abed, Matt, one of the EVS volunteers, and people involved in previous CADFA’s visits. We also had an incredible dabkeh performance and we showed some short films made by volunteers. Best wishes for the next 10 years of CADFA! We hope they will be even more successful then the first decade.

Some links to the animation films made by our volunteers:

'I want to watch the football match' - made by the local volunteers at Dar Assadaqa  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FShmlevIBo4

'A day in my life' - animation film made during the last women's visit (March 2013) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLzRje1lHas

'Memories' - made during the students' visit last June (2013)  http://vimeo.com/69698688

A successful day at the centre

A very good day at the centre, many kids came for the classes and we had lots of fun! Some pictures from today:

- English club: Today we welcomed Robert, the new EVS volunteer from London. First day for him at Dar Assadaqa!

- Art class: Following from last week, we carved drawings on wood!

 - Gardening: we planted onions, spinach, parsley, and beans! Notice Ehab watering the seeds with a teapot! The kids loved it and joked about the plants being 'British' and needing tea instead of water!

- Cooking: after writing down the recipe, we made Muhallabiya, a delicious dessert to be eaten hot or cold (hopefully to be included in CADFA's Palestinian recipe book, to be printed soon!!)

Cooking was followed by drama (which seems to be getting more popular day by day!) and dabkeh (preparing for a show for next week's celebration of CADFA's opening).

And finally, our 'new' kitchen cupboard!

Clashes near Dar Assadaqa!

Clashes today in Abu Dis. Students from the Abu Dis Boys School were sent home early as Israeli soldiers were throwing tear gas inside the school. The army surrounded the school and later the university (which has been closed for the day as well) and the sound of live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs could be heard all around Abu Dis. 40 people were injured.

Here are some pictures. Unfortunately, this didn't just happen today, but happens repeatedly in Abu Dis.

http://www.imcpal.ps/news/?p=35741

An article in English about what happened today:
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=648111

*** PETITION: Call for the right to study WITHOUT violence!! Tell the UK government to take action!! http://www.petitions24.com/stop_shooting_students 

Arts and drama

Art lesson: The boys today started working on wood carving, following the example of the horse below. Here is some work in progress:

Drama lesson: first lesson with our new drama teacher: lots of fun, rapping, and ice-breaking activities!

Happy team at Dar Assadaqa

Some of the many volunteers at Dar Assadaqa, who are giving their time to make every day as fun and creative as possible at the centre! Come and join us!

Cupcakes for everybody

Weekly cooking lesson with Najah - Today's recipe: Cinnamon cupcakes with nuts. Yummy!

Very quick to make and best enjoyed with some (Palestinian) tea!