The Open House in Ramle - a peace education center in Ramle, Israel
 

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    by Lutfia Gnime, summer camp co-director   This year we opened our camp despite all the fears of the war, it was important for us to tell the world that we will continue to believe in our way,...Read more »

  • Summer Camp 2023Summer Camp 2023

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    This year's summer camp was between the 3rd to the 21st of July, 2022. The Ramle municipality provided the grounds of the YRF learning center and we could accept 80 participants to full...Read more »

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Archive 2004

Following a short break following our very successful Summer Peace Camps, OPEN HOUSE moved into its year-long activities program in the fall. Racheli Zini was named Director of Open House in early 2004. She is joined by Khader Al-Kalak, Director of Administration and Finance.

A major gathering for all OPEN HOUSEs teenage participants, past and present has been planned. Festivities will include a karaoke evening with Hebrew, Arabic and English songs, followed by a Middle-Eastern style coffee house with carpeting, low tables and candle light.

The Center for the Development of the Arab Child, which includes our head start Arabic speaking Nursery School, is full with 35 toddlers who have finally learned to say goodbye to their mothers in the morning and enjoy their day full of activities. They have new toys and books this year. We bought some new furniture and new kitchen cabinets are promised. The teachers have a long wish list:

a teacher for dance or creative movement designed especially for toddlers, or a music teacher once a week to teach rhythm and singing
a modest budget to take the children on day trips with their mothers
a monthly professionally facilitated parents group to discuss early childhood educational and behavioral issues
sponsorship of continuing education courses for the four nursery school teachers
financial aid for needy parents that would allow OPEN HOUSE to accept and subsidize more low-income families
creating an extended day program several afternoons a week for mothers who work late.
We are trying to raise at least $10,000 in new funding for these initiatives.

The Center for Jewish Arab Co-existence is planning a full range of programs this year:

· Young Leadership Training program (YLT), part 2, including a field work component in which the participants will spend time in the Old City of Ramle getting to know the residents, learning how to make videos and documenting through video co-existence in action. This program is sponsored in part by The Abraham Fund Initiatives.
· Environmental Art self expression through art, with the goal of creating an outdoor mural and/or portable pieces of art that can be displayed throughout Ramlein schools, the community center, etc. The participants in this project will be comprised of last summer’s campers and other children ages 9-13.
· Environment and Peacein a brainstorming session with the older teens who are graduates of summer camps, travel programs, and the Young Leadership Training program, Racheli and the teens made a list of projects they might enjoy doing together. Working with environmental issues that specifically affect Ramle was high on the list, and we hope to begin this project soon.
· Videos of OPEN HOUSE in action and Communication Links with Friends Around the World. In addition to the video project described in the YLT program above, we are working on several projects:
A two-minute clip from the 25-day teen tour to the United States in the summer of 2002
Last summer a great video was made by the Italian team of our visit to La Cascina Camp in Italy
Two participants of last years YLT program were interviewed and filmed throughout the course, documenting the changes that occur in young adults who experience co-existence leadership training
A video conference series between OPEN HOUSE teenagers and Christian, Jewish and Muslim teens in the U.S. is being planned in cooperation with the Global Nomads Group
OPEN HOUSE teens are corresponding through email with the teens they met last summer in Italy, and we are working on establishing connections with young friends in the United States.
The Anne Frank Library and Resource Center at OPEN HOUSE is growing in size. It will soon be outfitted with new computers, enabling our teens to access the internet, study, research and correspond with their peers in Europe and the United States.
We are trying to raise at least $20,000 in new funding for these initiatives.

As always, we have been privileged to host guests from the United States and Europe over the past yearyou are most welcome to come visit us and see OPEN HOUSEs co-existence in action.

We always have more ideas than OPEN HOUSE has funds! We want to thank all of our Friends abroad for their continuing friendship, support and partnership. We couldnt do any of this work without you.