RBB Blog

Most of us have seen pictures or read about the wall that surrounds and divides the Palestinian West Bank.   On a recent trip, James Chapman, co-founder and trustee of GapArt was shocked by what he witnessed. Seven metres of intimidating concrete towering into the sky, topped with barbed wire. It divides communities and represents a constant, degrading and humiliating threat to the Palestinian people. Many of them have been living in refugee camps since its creation, most live in fear and without hope.

Sports, creative arts and recreational activities are severely limited, partly because of the travel restrictions and partly because of the lack of resources.  This leads to frustration which in turn can cause conflict within local communities.

The Somerset charity GapArt in conjunction with their Palestinian partners have been asked to help address this issue. We need volunteers with art skills to coordinate a series of workshops for both children and teenagers from the Tulkarm refugee camps and surrounding communities of the West Bank. Using basic but perfectly adequate facilities you would be asked to teach art for pleasure, therapy and personal development.  The workshops will run throughout July, August and September. We need artists to commit to a minimum period of a week but ideally longer.

Volunteers with art skills and an interest in the Palestinian cause should contact:

James Chapman:  [email protected]   Mobile: 07967 175 164

Dick Corbett Winder:  [email protected]  01305 889410