QNA
Doha
Education Above All Foundation’s Al Fakhoora House in the Southern part of Al Rimal, Gaza, was destroyed in Israel’s ‘Operation Iron Swords’ bombing.
In a statement, the EAA said Al Fakhoora House was a safe space for students and families in an area that hosts civil society and international organisations.
In 2009, the UNRWA Al Fakhoora School in Gaza was bombed during Operation Cast Lead while civilian IDPs used it as a shelter. The Al Fakhoora programme was created in 2010 as a direct response to honour the victims of this attack on education.
EAA has reiterated that collective punishment, reprisals and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are serious violations of international humanitarian law, and if deliberate they are war crimes.
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 undergraduate studies and complete their higher education.
Al Fakhoora House provides several services, including 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; and 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 organised by the programme. It manages all curricular and extracurricular activities offered to students.
Accomplishments and Progress of Al Fakhoora Programme includes 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; and 224 family projects were established and provided income to student families, approximately 1,200 people.