The «Our Town Is Finer with Its Youth» initiative

The Friends Association for Persons with Special Needs launched the initiative “Our Town Is Sweeter with Its Youth”, in partnership with and with support from Pal-Think for Strategic Studies and the FXB institution, within the project “Restoring hope to the youth and children of Palestine” — with the attendance of Mr Mahmoud Abu Marr, the association's executive director, Mr Sami Barhoum, the association's programmes manager, Eng. Muhannad Muammar, director of the health and environment department at Rafah municipality, Eng. Hazem Barhoum, director of the control and follow-up department at the municipality, and a gathering of notables, mukhtars, and representatives of the civil institutions, the initiative's team, the association's members with disability and their families, and representatives of the clubs, the ministries, the notables, and the mukhtars Mr Sami Barhoum affirmed in his word that organising this meeting comes within the events of the initiative “Our Town Is Sweeter with Its Youth”, which aims to restore hope to youth with disability and the other groups and strengthen their self-confidence, especially amid the psychological and social conditions they pass through after the latest Israeli aggression and the health conditions caused by the corona pandemic Mr Sami Barhoum affirmed in his word that the initiative seeks to strengthen the values of tolerance and the rejection of violence in Palestinian society, empower youth — especially those with disability, and girls in particular — and strengthen their positive energy. For her part, the initiative-team member, the young woman Alaa Hammad, of those with disability, affirmed she is very happy with her participation in this initiative, which gave her the opportunity to express her ideas, she and her colleagues with disability, through which they call for integrating persons with disability and opening the opportunity before them for effective communal participation in society. Mr Abdel Qader Abu Labda, initiative-team member, likewise reported that the initiative's idea sprang from the ideas of the youth with disability in Rafah, embodying an advanced model of full participation side by side with the rest of society's other groups: this initiative gave them the opportunity to express what passes through their minds and reflects their aspirations to full equality The initiative's events comprised painting a large mural on “the concept of integrating and empowering youth with disability and girls” — especially as the initiative's implementation coincides with the 16-day campaign against violence against women and the international day of persons with disability — in addition to a campaign of cleaning and tree-planting at the eastern entrance of central Rafah city