1999
1999 saw Highway Projects' first trip to the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children, on top of the Mount Olives in East Jerusalem. The team of 6 was led by Andy Ross, a Scottish Methodist Church lay worker then of Doncaster. We were given the task of clearing out the centre's upper play area; constructed by a American team a number of years previously, the area comprised of two main sand pits, a seesaw, and a climbing frame with slide and swing attached. Partly the area had simply fallen into disrepair, but the main problem was that vandalism had meant that the centre that the sand was infested with a large quantity of broken glass, and also cat mess. In discussion with the centre director, a wonderful Christian lady by the name of Betty Majaj, we undertook the following tasks:
- To sieve the entire bulk of sand of unwanted items.
- To whitewash all the walls of the area.
- To varnish and paint the wooden climbing frame.
- To paint a metal gate.
- To paint murals onto the hopefully completed whitewash.
The task, never easy, (working outside in the noon-day sun on the edge of a desert is always entertaining!) was rewarding as we plodded through the sand sieving (easily the most time consuming part of the work), watching huge piles of dirty sand turn into growing piles of nice clean stuff. Due to our location, our 'sandhills' were inevitably christened 'Mt. Moriah', 'The Herodium', 'Masada', 'The Mount of Olives', and finally, 'The Judean Wilderness'.
Two things I remember from that trip; one the invention on a new 4-letter word in 'sand', and two the wonderful privilege at the end of the trip of actually seeing disabled young children actually playing in an area that just a week previously was out of bounds to them.
2000
What an exciting project this turned out to be! Originally there was 2. I was to lead a team at Princes Basma, but due to ill health, team leader Pete had to pull out of the project @ 4 Homes. Dilema - 2 teams, 1 team leader! What should we do? Having visited both places I was heart broken at the thought of letting one down, so came up with the crazy idea to do both! Less time - more people - I was sure we could do it, And we did!! I came home with a great sense of achievement &the knowledge that we should never do that work format ever again!!??*?-:!?*:) The 1st 4 days work were spent decorating 2 rooms &spending any spare time we could grab with the residents @ 4 Homes. Tales of slave driver team leader, long workin days, &unbelievably runny paint are still being told today. But the team were excellent - the task completed well - &every1 was happy.Without stoppin to catch breath we then began another 4 days hard graft @ Princess Basma. Outside in the lurvelee hot sunshine creating a brightly painted child friendly play area.
This is where things got really interesting as the so efficient (if only) team leader, within the first hour on the job splits open her finger, like a sausage in a frying pan, with a sledgehammer. Yes that was me! I felt as the team leader I needed to check out the local hospital in order to reassure the team that in an emergency all would b well?! Tales of blood gushing, fainting, needles, x-rays &stitches R hyped up regularly &the scar proudly displayed. I can now confidently inform u that Jerusalem has an excellent hospital in the Mount of Olives where u r seen 2 swiftly &efficiently avoidin the usual 10 hr wait in any English hospital casualty.
The team once again did more than they could possibly think or imagine &rose 2 the challenge of completing the work - even with one hand down. We befriended the gardner who has since become our life long friend &the source of regular shouts of 'Supermarket'! Our presence in the place made such an impact in those 4 days that he cried when we left, makin us promise we'd return.
The 8th day of work finally came to an end &an extremely tired team wandered back up 2 the Mount Of Olives Hotel. They went in knowin they had physically transformed 2 places for the better. Accomplished work that due to lack of finance would have ordinarily been left undone. Brought laughter &hope in2 hopeless situations, given support &encouragement where it was needed the most.
It had all been worthwhile &each one of them now has the precious gift of understanding what it means to put Gods love into action!
2001
The project involved two pieces of work; sanding and repainting railings at the back of the centre and also work in the children's play area, sieving the sand to remove glass and rubbish making it useable again and erecting a chicken wire fence to prevent more rubbish blowing in. The work went well and after hours of sanding white railings to repaint them white again we completed the project. After the work was done we were able to spend time with the children from the centre, playing games and just saying "Hello"!
2002
Our Project was to assist the local leadership in running the 'Little Hands' summer camp. The aim was to provide a holiday club for able-bodied, hearing impaired and disabled children. A committed and gifted leadership team to work in partnership with a Highways Team, our fresh perspectives to complement those local leaders. The Highways Tea did indeed participate fully in the life of the Little Hands camp, leading sessions in games, craft, cookery, and face painting. We supported the local leadership in their activities, such as swimming, Day trips, Exercise, Music, Games and Craft.2004
Together with staff from the Centre the Highway Projects team helped to lead and participate in the Centre's summer camp involving disabled, hearing impaired &able bodied children and their parents. Using sport, drama, music, art and craft skills, as well as accompanying children on outings, the aim of the project was to help parents see that disability need not limit children's social development.(This project was run by Highway Projects in partnership with BibleLands - a partnership that is developing further in 2005)
An incredible time was had on the project at the Princess Basma Centre in East Jerusalem. There were four of us on the team and we arrived in Israel with our suitcases full of sweets, straws, balloons, rosettes and lots of other crafty resources: as prepared as we could be to take part in helping with the centre's 'Little Hand's Summer Camp'.
We spent the first morning meeting the children and teachers and looking around the centre. Then we joined the different age groups and got immediately involved with the activities! After settling in we began to run some of the activities enabling the team and the staff at the school to all be working together.
Getting used to the language at first was challenging but God provided us with plenty of creative ways to communicate and as the camp went on it was quite funny trying to learn some Arabic - the younger children spoke excellent English putting us to shame with our skills in speaking Arabic! We ran activities such as mask making, baking (biscuits, shortbread, crispy cakes), we played games and taught the children some songs including Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which became a favourite.
Speaking to some of the mothers of the children attending the camp we learn why the children attended the Princess Basma Centre and how the Centre and the Camp made such a difference to their lives. Some of the stories were quite moving and it was incredibly humbling to listen to them.
We had so much fun and it was a real privilege to be serving God in such a practical way with people who so clearly need to be shown His love at such a desperate time.
2005
Together with staff from the Centre the Highway Projects team helped to lead and participate in the Centre's summer camp involving disabled, hearing impaired &able bodied children and their parents. Using sport, drama, music, art and craft skills, as well as accompanying children on outings, the aim of the project was to help parents see that disability need not limit children's social development.
This project was run by Highway Projects in partnership with BibleLands.
It was a very successful year at the Princess Basma Centre. There were around 70 children on the 'Little Hands Summer Camp' aged from 6-12 years old. We were able to fit in very quickly and were warmly welcomed by the staff as well as the children. Throughout the camp we ran a number of different activities including making masks and hats, baking biscuits, singing English songs and playing lots of balloon games. The team had a varied experience of working with children which benefited the project greatly. We had the opportunity to accompany the children on day trips to an outdoor swimming pool and a theme park. The purpose of the project was to support and build positive relationships with the children and staff at the centre. This was definitely achieved and, despite the difficulties in communication, strong, edifying relationships were formed.
Yet again we had so much fun and it was a real privilege to be serving God in such a practical way with people who so clearly need to be shown His love at such a desperate time.
2006
The 2006 team had a fantastic time working with the staff of the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children running the Little Hands Summer Camp. This year more children than ever (on some days 80!) aged from 6-14 participated in the camp, which sought to integrate disabled and able-bodied children in a range of activities. We painted plates, made giant banners, played football, baked cakes and of course participated enthusiastically in Arabic dancing! This year for the first time too, we were encouraged by the staff of the centre to teach some of the older children English, which we did through games and songs. In addition to this, we helped to supervise several day trips, including two to outdoor swimming pools and one to Bethlehem, where a party was thrown for us by the staff and children of a local orphanage.
Due to the political troubles in the North of Israel, the summer camp team were joined for the last few days by seven other Highways volunteers who had previously been working in Nazareth and Raineh. This team completed much needed renovation work on the front of the hospital building, sanding and repainting railings. Despite the challenging circumstances we were often working under, in particular the political changes that took place in the region at the time, both teams worked extremely hard and with superb dedication. Real and loving relationships were built up with both the children and the staff. The commitment of all involved, whether to the childrens camp or the renovation work, was a true witness of our aim of sharing Christ with those we met in both word and deed. It was a privilege to have been able to contribute in some way to living out the love and grace of God within such a troubled community.
2007
2007’s work at the Princess Basma Center for Disabled Children saw the team work in new ways, build deeper relationships with both children, parents and teacher, and be able to express Gods love to them in practical means. This year our role was to assist in a small camp for the in-patients of the hospital: patients from the West Bank who have been granted the permits to come and stay at the center with their mothers to receive treatment. These kids have been deprived of normal interaction with children their own age. They have never had the chance to go swimming, to ride a camel, to see the sea or even to do basic cookery. Our role was to assist the occupational therapists and speech therapists in this new kind of care, and our presence had a real impact. On our final afternoon, when we had taken the children on a day trip to a pool and playground, we were told by one mother that the team being there had helped them so much, and that we were now like family to them….An amazing summers work, in an incredible school.