EDUCATIONAL KITS FOR CHILD WAR REFUGEES

Hi everyone,

My name is Ladidet López and I’m a team member of Conexión Creando Puentes (https://conexioncp.org).

Conexión CP is a Spanish charity committed to enhancing the education of displaced and refugee people. And today I’m pleased to present a new project we have, which is focused on the schooling of children from Gaza.

For the past three years, we have provided online education to students in Gaza, nurturing their minds and spirits. However, due to the recent conflict, our online courses have been disrupted, leaving our students without the source of engagement and learning we were offering them.

This video below gives you a glimpse of the kind of activities we’ve supported in Gaza, collaborating with a well-established local NGO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlyBIyy-SQ0

The Goal of Our Campaign

Our mission is to deliver educational kits to Gazan children, who have escaped with their families to Egypt, providing them with the tools they need to continue learning, stay engaged, and find hope amidst challenging circumstances. We aim to raise 6,000€ to fund this project, which will enable us to distribute 400 educational kits, each designed to support a family of four children.

The Impact of Our Project

Gazan children have been out of school for about 11 months now, a situation that has not only hindered their academic progress but also affected their emotional and psychological well-being. By providing these educational kits, we aim to:

Keep Minds Engaged: The kits will include storybooks in Arabic, colouring books, jigsaw puzzles, and notebooks, offering a variety of activities to stimulate young minds and keep them engaged in productive and creative tasks.

Support Emotional Health: Each kit will contain items such as dolls, balls and similar, which are crucial for emotional and psychological support. Play is a powerful tool for healing, and these toys will provide comfort and a sense of normalcy to children who have experienced trauma.

Promote Learning: We are also going to include easy English books in the kits, helping children improve their language skills and opening up new opportunities for their future.

Our Plan and Partnership

In Cairo, our dedicated volunteers have meticulously been sourcing the best deals for the kit components, going from market to market to ensure every euro is spent wisely. After some time, we have decided that all the items will be acquired through and at Dar El Ma’aref, which is a huge bookshop in Cairo with a great number of choices. We are also going to partner with Kinder Relief Foundation, which will assist us with the collection, transportation and distribution of the kits. This collaboration ensures that the distribution of kits will be handled efficiently and reach those who need it most.

Each educational kit will include the following:

• 2 storytelling books in Arabic to strengthen reading skills,

• 3 easy English books to enhance language proficiency,

• 1 bilingual story-book (Arabic – English),

• 2 colouring books with crayons,

• 4 notebooks and pens to work on writing,

• 2 jigsaw puzzles to develop cognitive abilities,

• 1 ball to encourage physical activity and provide emotional support,

• 1 teddy bear and 1 doll for emotional support,

• lollipops.

The cost of each kit is 15€, which covers the items, printing of our logo, packaging, transportation within Cairo and distribution. Our goal is to distribute 400 kits, which will benefit approximately 1600 children, given that each kit serves a family of four children. This means we need to raise 6,000€ for the kits themselves and to cover the additional costs for delivery through Kinder Relief.

Transfer of Funds: All the money raised will be transferred to Conexión CP bank account, which in turn will pay Dar Alma’aref bookshop in Cairo for the school items, toys, logo printing and packaging directly through bank transfer. Whereas the rest of the money will be transferred from Conexión CP to Kinder Relief bank account to cover the costs of transport and distribution.

How You Can Help

Your support is crucial to making this project a reality. By donating to our campaign, you will be directly contributing to the education and emotional well-being of children that have just fled war from Gaza. Here are a few ways you can help:

Donate: Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to our goal. A donation of 15€ sponsors one kit, directly benefiting a family in need.

Spread the Word: Share our campaign with your network. The more people who know about our mission, the more support we can gather.

We will provide evidence of the distribution of the kits to Gazan families in Cairo. Please check this page and our social media every now and then.

A Message of Hope

This project is not just about providing educational materials; it’s about restoring hope and giving Gazan children a sense of purpose and a belief in a brighter future. We have seen firsthand the resilience and strength of these young minds, and with your help, we can empower them to continue learning, dreaming, and thriving despite the challenges they face.

Join us in making a lasting impact on their lives!

Thank you for your generosity and compassion.

Final Note: When we initially created our campaign video we were planning to arrange the delivery to Gaza, but we soon realised it would take too much time to cross the border, due to the fact that our items are not under the “basic needs” category. However, knowing that many Gazan children were relocated in Egypt and that need schooling, it made our project perfect for them.