Since 2007, Israel has attempted to isolate Gaza under an ongoing air, land and sea blockade.
Education Above All (EAA) Foundation is providing 339 of the “most marginalised youth” in Palestine with scholarships, Qatar’s state news agency (QNA) reported on Saturday.
As part of its “Goals4Good” Ramadan campaign, EAA has partnered with Al-Quds Bard College (AQB) of Arts and Sciences at Al-Quds University to provide students with scholarships through the “Qatar Scholarship programme.”
According to QNA, the initiative covers dual degree liberal arts undergraduate and postgraduate youth teaching education in Palestine. The students will receive degrees from AQB that are accredited by Palestine and the United States.
EAA has been involved in Palestine over the past decade and has worked in close collaboration with the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).
In its report, QNA said that QFFD, following the hostilities of 2014, pledged $40 million to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 93 educational institutions in the country, including the first Child Friendly School in Palestine.
EAA is also seeking funding for its Al Fakhoora programme’s 2025 strategy, which would provide 4,000 scholarships to help refugees and marginalised youth in Palestine, and throughout the MENA region and beyond, to access quality higher education.
The programme was established in 2009 following the deadly Israeli war on Gaza in which more than 1,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and thousands of buildings were destroyed.
The programme rebuilt educational facilities destroyed by the attacks while providing children and youth with much-needed psycho-social support following the traumatic event.
Al Fakhoora also provided students with disabilities with crucial educational programmes.
To date, the programme has provided 1,238 higher education and empowerment scholarships to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip and the occupied West Bank.
Since 2007, Israel has attempted to isolate Gaza after subjected it to a blockade that has turned the city into what has been widely described as “the largest open-air prison”.
Children in Gaza often struggle to go back to school following the trauma inflicted by Israel’s attacks on the city, with many losing classmates to the Israeli aggression.
According to Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 195 children were subjected to a violation in 2021, the year in which Israel bombed the city for 11 days straight.
Out of the figure reported, 185 of the children were subjected to violations by Israeli forces.
