11th October 2023 — In a shocking incident on the early morning of October 10, 2023, our Al Fakhoora House in the Southern part of Al Rimal, Gaza, was destroyed. Al Fakhoora House was a safe space for students and families in an area that hosts civil society and international organizations.
EAA’s Al Fakhoora program was created in 2010 as a direct response to honor the victims of the UNRWA Al Fakhoora school in Gaza, which was bombed while being used as a shelter by civilian IDPs.
EAA reiterates that collective punishment, reprisals and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a severe violation of international humanitarian law.
Schools and other civilian infrastructure, including those sheltering displaced families, must never be attacked. Education Above All Foundation supports calls to reach an immediate ceasefire and stop the violence everywhere.
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Factsheet
Al Fakhoora was founded in 2009 after the attacks in Gaza. It takes its name from a school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, where many families took refuge during the war. In the aftermath of the conflict, Al Fakhoora launched its first projects, a diverse set of initiatives ranging from rebuilding educational facilities damaged in the war, providing psycho-social support for children and youth, establishing vocational programmes for students with disabilities, and awarding holistic higher education scholarships to marginalised youth, enabling them to pursue undergraduates studies and complete their higher education.
Al Fakhoora House Main Services:
– Consolidated student services and Programme administration support
-Supportive environment, including flexible meeting and workshop spaces, as well
as computer workstations available for Programme activities.
– Students’ daily meetings and reception
– Scholarships and registration services
– Workshops, seminars, and video conferences
– Academic advisory services
– Civic Engagement activities including community initiatives and other related
activities
– Hosting social, cultural, and recreational activities
– Post-university alumni networking and career guidance.
While Al Fakhoora House serves Scholarship students during the study period, it also
exists to maintain the relationship with the students after graduation i.e. participating in
activities and events organized by the program. It manages all curricular and
extracurricular activities offered to students.
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Accomplishments and Progress of Al-Fakhoora Programme
– 999 full scholarships have been provided to Palestinian youth from underserved
backgrounds (525 female,474 male).
– 404 alumni have successfully completed their academic degrees (374 domestic
BA, 30 international MA).
– 29,547 training hours were provided to equip students with skills needed for
labour market.
– 176,131 advocacy and leadership training activity hours accomplished by
students.
– 276 alumni successfully participated in internships, training and economic
empowerment.
– 224 family projects were established and provided income to student families
(approximately 1,200 people).
Source: https://www.undp.org/papp/projects/al-fakhoora-scholarship-and-
empowerment-programme