Palestinian Counseling Center launches the second phase of the project,
"Kicking the Ball and Taking Care"
Ramallah – The Palestinian Counseling Center celebrated the launch of the second phase of the project, "Kicking the Ball and Taking Care - Psychosocial Help in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," on Monday, July 8, at the Red Crescent hall in Ramallah. The project is being implemented in partnership with the Free University of Berlin in Germany, UNRWA, and the Gaza Community Mental Health Center.
The event included the graduation of 18 psycho-social specialists and counselors, each of whom obtained a diploma in the field of professional supervision from the Palestinian Counseling Center, the Ministry of Health, the Palestinian Red Crescent, and the Arab Society for Rehabilitation in Bethlehem. The project’s training portion, the first of two phases, lasted for a period of two and a half years.
In addition to the profession supervision diploma-earning instruction, the project also boasts a segment aimed at equipping teachers to employ football in the promotion of children’s mental health in UNRWA-based schools.
Ms. Rana Nashashibi, director general of the Palestinian Counseling Center, opened the event with a speech welcoming attendees and thanking the Free University of Berlin for their support of the project as well as the German Foreign Ministry and partner institutions in its implementation.
She added that the project "is the first of its kind in the region, connecting children’s interest in football to the enhancement of self-confidence and overall mental health of children and youth who have been exposed to particular hardships. The included activities also help to promote the concepts of teamwork and collaboration and how they relate to child-teacher relationships.