Today, Saturday 17 October, Peace campaigners will again stand in vigil on the Kirk Green, outside St Magnus Cathedral, Broad Street, Kirkwall, between 1 and 2pm raising awareness about the genocide in Gaza, and the need for humanitarian aid to be delivered unhindered.
One of the organisations supported from money raised in Orkney is Hope and Play, a UK charity that builds spaces to play, creates learning opportunities and provides Palestinian children with trauma support.
Working with partners, Hope and Play continues to provide Palestinian children with places where they can learn, have fun, drink clean water, and other activities that all children have a right to.
Here’s a snapshot of their work this summer in Gaza:
On 23 September, the Semsem Family clown and puppet show arrived at the Dove of Peace camp in south-west Gaza where around 240 kids attended.
The show has now reached over 29,000 children. It uses clowns, puppets, storytelling and familiar characters to create moments of play and laughter, while also sharing practical messages around children’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Hope and Play states that it “matters in a place where Palestinian children continue to live with Israeli attacks, displacement, hunger and profound trauma.”
Hope and Play is also helping to fund schooling. The schools need significant financial support. The National Education Union will be donating £25,000 to support the learning programmes. Four solidarity and trade union groups are fundraising for one school. It is hoped to expand this to support more children beyond them.
Alexi Lubomirski who produces photography, books, posters and T-shirts for sale in his store, Lubomirski Creative, has Hope and Play as the sole charity beneficiary.
You can help support the work of Hope and Play through donating on their page, purchasing from Lubomirski Creative, or at the Orkney Vigil where Zaytoun products will be on sale. Half of the proceeds from the sales at the Orkney vigils go to Hope and Play and the other half to support work in Shufat Refugee Camp.
The Orkney vigils have been taking place since the end of October 2023, and have been documented by The Orkney News, both in online reports and in YouTube videos. Here is the latest.
Fiona Grahame.
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