Art and Drama – El Hamshari Girls School, Palestine

El Hamshari is a wonderful, thriving school for 500 girls aged 10–14 in the centre of Tulkarm. The head teacher Mrs Shafiqa speaks good English and is very keen to expand the rather narrow curriculum that the girls currently follow. Due to a lack of space, resources and teachers, sport, art, music and drama have been neglected for several years. Severe travel restrictions caused by the wall exacerbate the situation, the girls suffer from daily trauma and little room is allowed for the release of energy. It is recognised that art can be a powerful tool for the healing of trauma and expression of anxiety.

GapArt has been asked to bring volunteer artists to the school to teach both art and drama to the girls. Most of the art work would take place outside and would be a combination of teaching and creating permanent murals on the rather drab external walls. Both the girls and staff seem enthusiastic to support this but need volunteers with art skills to get the project off the ground. Supervision and all the materials would be provided by our Tulkarm coordinator. We just need you. The best time would be for a few weeks at some point between September and April as part of an ongoing project.

For further details, see our Palestine country page. Then simply contact us or complete the application form.