As council members, these youth develop plans for municipal improvements that they can implement and many Youth Councils receive funding from diverse sources for approved projects. The groups get together to organize events and volunteer activities, such as cleaning roads, painting walls or providing services for the elderly and disabled. They have also organized summer camps attended by hundreds of children, safety awareness campaigns, such as safe driving and anti-smoking, and a “communications between generations” program to showcase the roles of the elderly in upholding local traditions.

“Now we have the opportunity to raise our voices, express our opinions and learn more about our rights,” said Mohammed Al Deek head of Kufur Naima YSLC. Youth are provided trainings in areas such as media and IT in order to strengthen and supplement their school/college education.

Training the Next Generation

A hallmark of CHF is the Engineering Fellows Program, which grants internships to recent engineering graduates. The program targets young engineers who are unemployed but fully credentialed – putting them to work on CHF projects, thus utilizing their knowledge and talents while simultaneously honing their skills and providing them with experience needed to become more competitive in the job market. The Fellows work in a variety of capacities including site supervision, assisting with design preparation, quality control and assurance, and managing tenders for the projects. An impressive 90% of the 117 Engineering Fellows successfully entered the labor market following their CHF internships.

In addition to hands on training, CHF also imparts knowledge utilizing the mechanism of summer camps, which are held across Palestine and in key Municipalities in Gaza. Last summer, a number of child and youth participants engaged in multidisciplinary activities that contributed to their educational, cultural, and personal development.