August Calendar PDF
PWRDF Story
Family Activity
Ages 3-6
Ages 6-10
Ages 10-15
Children's Book
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August Refugees
Refugees is the August Focus of the PWRDF Family Calendar . You can explore this important concern with your family at any time of the year.
Family Activity: The Best That We Have
Read the story, "Take this, it's the best that I have" by Kathy Ogle and talk about it as a family. Decide how you can challenge yourselves to give some of your best. It doesn't have to be material goods -- maybe you can offer some of your best talent to a good community program or someone in need. One suggestion is to have everyone in the family add a 'good thing' to a box that you donate to the local refugee program. Include a note about what you are giving and how you hope it will be received.
PWRDF Story
Photo: In Aita El Shaab, children play in the rubble of bombed-out cars and houses. Photo: Morsi, (DCA)-ACT International Larger Photo
PWRDF partners with the Department on Service to Palestinian Refugees, DSPR, of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). This regional ecumenical organization was set up following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and has been serving the needs of war weary refugees every since.
Thousands of Palestinians have died in the conflict over the years and many more have been permanently disabled. Buildings are damaged and not repaired, jobs are lost. There is limited water, health care and education. In Gaza, where the need is greatest, the DSPR is active to do what they can to help people live with dignity in spite of the various difficulties.
Palestinian refugees benefit from their work in health clinics, vocational centres for training in carpentry, metal work, literacy, handicraft, office skills; constructing water cisterns and agricultural roads, self-help programs for women, small business loans, early childhood education and community workshops for youth.
Activity for ages 3-6: Shoe Box House
Build a house with your child and as you do, use it as a chance to talk about how some people have to leave their houses and their neighbourhoods when they are unsafe. We are a part of a community that welcomes these folks and helps them settle in a new place. This house we build today will remind us that our house is special and that everyone deserves to have a safe place to live.
Materials:
A shoe box; A marker; Scissors; wrapping paper or wall paper; scraps of material;glue.
Directions
1. Take the lid off the shoe box and use the bottom half, standing on its side length ways, for your room.
2. Start by papering the inside walls. Stand the box on its end on the paper and trace it with a pen. Cut it out and glue it into place inside. Repeat for the other end and sides of the box. Do the 'ceiling' too if you like.
3.Use old material for a carpet, tracing the base in the same way.
4. For doors and windows, decide where you would like them and then draw their outlines on the outside of the box. Cut the windows out entirely, and leave one side of the door uncut that can be bent out to open and shut.
5. Make curtains from scraps of material folded together and then stuck at either side of the window.
6.Continue decorating as much as you like. You can add pictures from magazines, stick cling wrap over the windows, add flower boxes on the windows. Decorate the outside of the box too. Add other boxes if you want to make another story or a row of houses.
Adapted from: The Under-Fives Activity Book, by Stella Maidment London:Red Fox,1992 ISBN 0 09 986530 0
Making It Home: Real-Life Stories from Children Forced to Flee. Compiled by Beverley Naidoo
Ages: 8 + This is a poignant and inspiring collection of stories by refugee children from all over the world told from their point of view. Available from Parent Books
Activity for ages 6-10: What is a Home Art Project
Millions of people today live under the recognized status of "Refugee." Millions of people without homes. Millions of people in search of a new place to call home. For each of us a home is always more than a space, a territory, a flag, a passport, or a nation. What is a Home? Where is your Home? Create a piece of art that captures your response. This idea is taken from TakingITGlobal.org - an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. See the What is a Home? Artwork
CCR Youth Network YouTube Video
Features wordsmith Emcee E and Video/Music producer Taro animator graphics Grant Smith and active members of the Canadian Council for Refugees Youth Network.
Activity for ages 10-15: Crossword Quiz
Try out the No Longer Strangers Crossword Puzzle. Choose the interactive version to work it out on the computer or use the print out version to work it out with a pencil.
Hints:
Put your mouse over the word to see the clue -- if you can't figure it out you can choose "solve" for the word to be added automatically.
Use a bible to reference the quotes -- the New Revised Standard version.
Check the puzzle at the end to see how well you have done.
Use the back button on your browser to return to this page when you're done.
SWEET DEAL!
Share your family story with PWRDF and we send you a fair trade chocolate bar. More....
More Ideas and Information
Canadian Council for Refugees Youth Program
World Council of Churches, International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel
