Qattan Center : Children Paint to Heal Wounds

The Bombs fell day and night. Helicopters hovered over head dropping white phosphorous bombs. Tanks shooting guns, rolling over everything in their way. Airplanes flying low, flying high, firing missiles everywhere. The soldiers came with guns and nasty words; they also shot people. There was noise, and fire, and dust, and crying, and bangs, and blood, and yelling, and more noisy bangs, and sometimes quiet. Then it all started over again. It was so very, very scary.

The Qattan Center in Gaza City is a haven for children, as are other childrens' centers in Gaza. But Qattan is different! They are housed in a large colorful, contemporary building that would rival centers through out the world. Upon first seeing it, I was shocked; it seemed so out of place, too bright and glitzy and it looked expensive. Qattan is financially supported by a Foundation, begun by a man from Gaza who moved to England and became very successful.

All the childrens' agencies we spoke with told us how very traumatized the children are. They are depressed, have difficulty concentrating, are having sleep problems and nightmares, react strongly to loud noises, are clingy with loved ones and have many other signs of "traumatic stress." It isn't "post" the stress continues. They've watched their homes destroyed, witnessed death, lived in fear and seen the horrors of war.

Their eyes have witnessed too much!
These pictures were painted by children attending programs at Qattan. Using art therapy it is hoped the children will heal. Their paintings express thoughts and emotions about their experiences.


Dropping from the airplane and helicopters are white phosphorous bombs. They burn very bright red with a white smoke stream behind them.









Burns from white phosphorous are very painful, and dangerous. There were deaths and many serious injuries caused by white phosphorous during the Dec.-Jan. bombing by the IDF. White phosphorous bombs are rarely used in populated areas.






This painting includes IDF helicopters, airplane, tanks, guns bombs and missiles.

Proudly waiving at top center in the picture is the Palestinian flag. It's encircled with dots which also enclose two other objects I can't identify.





I cannot tell if this helicopter is dropping a
bomb or shooting a missile. War is there but there's also hope; a bright sun, fluffy clouds in the sky, birds flying, a tree full of green leaves and a strong house still standing. We all hope for brighter days in Gaza

There's war happening, that's obvious, but if you look at the house there are hearts in the windows......where there are hearts there's love and life.


The Qattan Center offers supportive and exciting programs for the children of Gaza and their mothers.

Their library is extensive, it wasn't easy to get it that way. Shelving and books were ordered and paid for and it took two years to receive approval from Israel to bring them in to Gaza. Just one more example of arbitrary and nonsensical control exhibited by the Israeli Government.

Qattan accepts volunteers, even ones that don't speak Arabic. They're also flexible about the length of time volunteers serve.


It's a vibrant environment and one I would very much like to become a part of. I'm communicating with the director, Reem and I'm hopeful I'll be able to return to Gaza as a Qattan volunteer. It's not an "easy project." For openers, getting into Gaza is a major challenge. I'm up for a challenge!

When Reem mentioned volunteering to our delegation I was certain I didn't qualify because I don't speak Arabic. A friend in the group encouraged me to talk to Reem about it.
Thankfully I listened to him, hopefully I'll return to Gaza as a volunteer!