Residents of the Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank established the Ibdaa Cultural Center in 1994 to create a safe space for the camp’s children to learn and play. Ibdaa, which means
“to create something from nothing”
in Arabic, has since flourished and now runs programs that serve more than 1,500 children, youth, and women. Ibdaa offers art and creative writing programs, international cultural exchange opportunities, leadership training for girls and women, an oral history project with elderly Palestinians, trauma counseling for children and youth, a computer and internet center, sports and dance teams, and Dheisheh’s first mixed-gender kindergarten. As the political process in the Middle East induces rapid changes in Palestinian society, Ibdaa works to empower Palestinian refugee youth to build a brighter future for themselves and their communities. For more information, please visit our website at
http://www.ibdaa194.orgjoin our group at ibdaa-health@googlegroups.com