The project “Together WE Connect”, promoted by the Focolare in the Holy Land in collaboration with various institutions, is an educational program addressed to the youth that aims to strengthen active citizenship, the culture of care, inclusion, participation and cooperation. Students of the seventh, eighth and ninth grades participate in the program, developing their personality gradually and assimilating the contents in an increasingly deep and effective way over the course of three school years.
“We address different topics with them every week, such as bullying prevention, conflict management and prevention of substance use. Beyond this formation, we also try to offer different moments, such as art, music and dance. Today, precisely, this day wants to offer the same values, under the aspect of sport, so that they can then bring them where they live and change, we hope, the society that surrounds them.” (Marco Desalvo, Focolare)
Marco also speaks of the challenges that they can encounter, but we can clearly see the notable progress that these young people are making. The objective is to form them so that they become leaders and guides for the new generations.
“We met several times to realize this sporting activity, preparing various activities based on team games, on sporting spirit and on collaboration, to see which group manages to create the most beautiful game, not just who wins. This creates a beautiful team spirit, new acquaintances and a positive energy, bringing joy and serenity to these students in the difficult conditions that they are living.” (Nader Al Qass, Talitha Kumi School)
“We came to the Talitha Kumi school for this activity within the framework of the program “Together we communicate”. For a year and a half we have been learning these things and also last year we were very active in the program. We have learned to discover ourselves and I have discovered aspects of my personality that I did not know. We are different, each one comes from a different city, but we collaborated, played together; we created beautiful friendships and met truly special people.” (Arouba Hamid, Holy Land School – Bethlehem)
We participated and we made acquaintance among students coming from different schools, becoming more and more sociable. We already knew each other, but thanks to this activity the relationships have strengthened. They also taught us what bullying is and how sometimes it can lead to serious consequences or psychological problems. We learned mutual respect, respect towards those who are older than us, to avoid offensive words and to be active and sporty.” (Yousef Horani, Latin Patriarchate School – Beit Jala)
For the leaders, also the organization of the days is a reason for joy. This edition dedicated to sport brings with it a fundamental theme: teamwork, respect for others and, naturally, victory.
We focused on three rules to follow during the activity. The first is “I”, that is: I have a vital and very important role within the team and I can offer something to the group. The second is “you”, in the sense that every person is part of the team and we must collaborate. The last is “we”: we must not forget that you and I are part of a group and we must cooperate and love each other.” (Nicole Qumsieh, Beit Sahour)
The project “Together WE Connect” strengthens self-confidence, encourages participation in community activities and promotes dialogue as a tool to resolve conflicts, improving peace and collaboration.
Original post published in cmc-terrasanta.org