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.
