Renovations at El-Zuhur Preschool

A group of preschoolers sitting outside their newly-renovated preschool in Gaza.

ANERA installed new bathrooms as part of the renovation.

New windows at El-Zuhur were desperately needed after they were destroyed when a nearby home was struck last year.

Today, El-Zuhur Preschool, which translates to flowers in Arabic, is a welcoming sight for students and teachers alike, thanks to a jointly-funded project by ANERA and OCHA to renovate destroyed preschools in Gaza after last year's war.

"This neighborhood was destroyed. Just behind the preschool, a house was hit by a missile which caused damages to the doors and windows of the preschool," said Huda El-Louh, the director of El-Zuhur. "Those families have moved to temporary shelters like containers or living in tents. In winter, they cover the tents with nylon to protect them."

El-Louh, who has been working at the preschool for nearly 16 years, has seen its growth throughout the years. "It was small. We have added classrooms. Now, the number has increased to 170 children," she pointed out. "We don't have a bus to pick up children. If we had one, the number of students would double."

ANERA implemented the school's renovation by installing doors, window shutters and painting classrooms. "It makes such a difference," Huda exclaimed. In addition, new bathrooms were installed and the leaking roof fixed.

Several days after the war ended, the children did not want to come back to the damaged preschool. Now, the children love going to their preschool with its new changes and more welcoming environment. One teacher recalls the childrens' first reaction to seeing the new school and asked who had done this for them. The teacher told them, the same people who give you milk and biscuits.

The renovation took a total of three weeks and since then the school has turned a new direction. "We have the best preschool. All visitors who come are astonished," said El-Louh. "We thank ANERA and hope to get more support."

Date modified: January 2010