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Within
its program "Fighting Corruption Through Building a National Integrity
Systems in the Arab world", implemented by AMAN and in cooperation with
Transparency International, AMAN in cooperation with
several Civil Society Organizations (SCO) in the Gaza Strip, completes a
five day program, which aims at enhancing transparency and
accountability through child play. Targeting children 10-14 years of
age, AMAN and five partners (Gaza Cultural Club; Fursan Al-ghad Society;
Al-ard alkhadra Society; Tatweer Al-Usra Society; and Yabous Society)
put together activities that included story telling, drawing, game
playing and more, to emphasize the importance of protecting public
property as well as distinguishing between “good and Evil” when faced
with decision making situations.
Activities, which began on June 26
and ended on July 22, 2010 were carried out in five different districts
and directly benefited 300 children. Building a national integrity
system is AMAN’s main objective since it constitutes preventive measures
to combat corruption. With that in mind, AMAN views targeting the
youth, whether through formal education, school and university
curriculums or through summer camp activities is AMAN’s best investment
for a promising future for a corruption free Palestine.
Activities of “Summer Days”,
designed and implemented with care by the organizers, allowed the
children to express themselves freely in some cases such as choosing
what to paint on their own faces, or draw on paper from their reality
etc. Other times, they were guided to recognize the “good from evil”
through glorifying and rewarding protagonists in stories and demeaning
antagonists who steal or destroy public property showing that at the end
of the day that it is their property hence planting the seed of
ownership.
In order to captivate the
children’s attention, organizers brought clowns into the acts to further
ingrain values of integrity. Through comedy and laughter, the children
cheered for the “Good” clown while booing the “Bad” one.
All of the above-mentioned
activities were in cooperation with the Psychological Task Support Group
for Local Initiatives, an institution that specializes in working with
children in addition to volunteers from AMAN’s network “youth for
Integrity” group.
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