Afaq Jadeeda (New Horizons) was founded in 2000 and was among the first group of Martín-Baró Initiative grantees at Grassroots International. The project is located in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip and is one of the most densely populated camps in Gaza. It is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and has been the victim of constant siege since 2007, having endured five military offensives by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Afaq Jadeeda’s mission focuses on community sustenance and development by providing supportive services to children and women who are suffering from the violence under Israeli occupation and attacks.

The grant provides assistance to Afaq Jadeeda for projects addressing the psychosocial wellbeing of over two hundred children from ages ten to sixteen who are traumatized by the daily shelling and continual overhead presence of menacing drones. Afaq Jadeeda engages children in creative and recreational activities including crafts, hobbies, drawing therapy, and writing therapy. The children are encouraged to express their feelings while the families, teachers, and community members are educated about how to physically and psychosocially support them. One hundred mothers are trained on how to help the children when there is an Israeli incursion or long-time military offensive against Gaza and the camp. Afaq Jadeeda develops models to integrate these healthy practices into the camp, thereby helping to sustain the community despite the adverse conditions imposed by the Occupation.