[Original published in note.com by Masaya SAIKI, Intern for the Palestine project (March 15, 2022); Translated by Y. Miki/F. Farina]
Ms. Ayat, one of our local staff in Jerusalem, visited Gaza. Here is the report on the final day of her visit following part 2.
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Drinking coffee in the morning with the sunshine in Gaza is “a great ritual to start the day” for me. Unfortunately, though, a taxi to the place I was visiting had arrived.
I always wanted to check out the view of Gaza from the top, and when I went up to the roof of the building I was visiting, there was a lot of greenery. There were a lot of pots and planters with vegetables and herbs. Those were not for sales purposes, but vegetable seedlings being grown as part of another project encouraging the planting of plants on roofs and balconies for community members.
Vegetable seedlings distributed for home gardens
We then monitored the training for the health volunteers. It began with an activity to make toys for children using inexpensive materials with no extra cost as an alternative way to measure children’s growth.
Health volunteers making toys in groups (right: Yamamura, JVC staff）
The room was full of laughter during the training, bringing Gaza to life. The women at the training were very open-minded and honest so they told us various things about anything surrounding them without hesitation. It was an absolutely valuable experience to hear their stories since I was very interested in the situations that they had been facing, as well as their thoughts.
After the training was over, I spent some time at a café along the beach in Gaza. The ocean always soothes my mind and makes me even calmer. Just by eating good food, listening to the music of Amr Diab, a popular Egyptian singer, and watching fishermen at sea, I felt that there is a tomorrow, there is hope.
Sunset over the sea in Gaza
