The Ibdaa Cultural Center is receiving funding for a second year to continue its cultural and sports activities with children and youth, and its mental health workshops for parents and teachers. Ibdaa runs a very active after school program (as well as all day programs during school holidays) that is intended to foster the development of constructive youth leadership in the face of ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It does this through a wide array of activities that include sports, music, art, drama, photography, and film screenings for several hundred children weekly. Sports groups, in particular, offer a way for children to channel their resentments and frustrations into productive physical activity. Ibdaa also sponsors field trips that enable youth who have few opportunities to leave the refugee camp to meet other youth from all over Palestine. Ibdaa also hosts crisis intervention workshops for parents and teachers, and workshops on how to recognize the mental health needs of youth and be cognizant of their human rights.

With continued funding from MBF, Ibdaa is broadening its focus to include physical as well as mental health of children in its efforts. The Center has added to its activities open health days during which doctors and nurses provide free consultation and treatment for hundreds of children.