Think Creative Fall 2024

See videos of youth in action!

soybeans and maize on two-and-a-half acres. “I am very proud of the work I’m doing,” she says, juggling her full-time job at Premier Seeds with part-time farming chores. “It’s really empowering to see other people like me, young and female, embracing agriculture. It’s not the whole stereotypical aspect of having to see anything that has to do with farming is just for men. Now, you see a lot of women embracing farming. You see a lot of people embracing agriculture as an agri-business. And you see it’s creating a lot of jobs.” Through the Trade Hub, Ali and other exten sion officers at Premier Seeds registered 786 farmers across seven states, of which 65 per cent are youth and 70 percent are women. Locally led, youth powered In a courtyard in central Ramallah, in the West Bank, Palestinian children tried their hands at different Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) activities such as robotics, horticulture, engineering and more as they envisioned their futures as scientists and community leaders. The demand for these skills in STEAM-oriented occupations is rising globally. For 21-year-old Sara Khader, this summer camp allowed her to engage bright, young minds as a facilitator. “I decided not to take a summer course at university so that I would be a facilitator at this camp,” says the rising senior studying me chanical engineering at Birzeit University. “I love working with children, and I thought this would be a great opportunity not only for me to teach but also to learn new things from these children.” The camp is organized by the Al Nayzak Organization, an NGO partnering with the USAID-funded Basic Education Activity in the West Bank and Gaza. Al Nayzak provided capacity-building training to facilitators like Sara to support children’s social and emotional skills through learning.

Sara Khader worked with students at the STEAM Summer Adventure camp to conceptualize, design and build isothermal houses that would stay hot or cold without electricity.

I love working with children, and I thought this would be a great opportunity not only for me to teach but also to learn new things from these children.” - Sara Khader, Summer Camp Facilitator, Basic Education Activity “

In addition to the camps, the Basic Education Activity will strengthen pre-primary education and remedial and extracurricular program ming at the primary level in the West Bank and Gaza, targeting marginalized communities by providing literacy, numeracy and social and emotional support for children, parents and teachers in the region. Khader is joined at the summer camp by other motivated facilitators, including engineering students, scientists and psychologists, who combine their talents to create a fun and edu cational summer camp. Khader is passionate about educating children about the wonders of sustainable energy and how to be environmentally conscious. Though the campers are first to sixth graders, Khader is showing them how to build an isothermal home in which the indoor temperature remains con stant despite the outside conditions. “I think environmental sustainability is very important, and it’s very important to expose children to it at a very young age,” she says.

“Unfortunately, Palestine isn’t exactly one of the leading countries addressing this kind of problem. So, we’re starting from a young age and teaching them these things so that in the future, they will become initiators and leaders in this kind of aspect of science.” The 21-year-old credits her parents for encouraging her to learn and grow, a mindset she wants to pass along to the summer camp participants. “I want them to become future leaders in their community and to take the initiative to solve problems,” Khader says. “Also, I want them to make new friends and to find themselves within this summer camp.” Investing in youth means creating oppor tunities for young people to thrive and lead initiatives in their communities, laying the groundwork for generations to come. n With reporting by Atiewin Mbillah-Lawson, Luis Villatoro, Pariesa Brody, Hugo Perez and Sara Barker

Photo by Jim Huylebroek

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