Like any worthwhile and long term project there have been times where we thought we could be making more progress or moving forward faster, but looking back at this video from February 2020 gives us a great perspective on how far we have come today with the ACLAÍ Palestine project. Before this video was taken we raised the funds to buy the initial batch of equipment we needed to get the gym off the ground, managed to successfully land the gear at the camp, installed the gym, and got started on r...

We had to cancel this evenings training in the gym on account of clashes with the soldiers in the camp and outside the centre. First pic @romi_mohammad at the door of Lajee, videos of soldiers rushing out of the base, and teargas filling the air outside the centre.

LAND DAY 30th March 2022. Today marks an important day in the Palestinian calander; Land Day. On this day in 1976 six Palestinian’s were killed by the Israeli army during a mass demonstartion against the expropriation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land by Israelis in the Galillee in order to build new colonies and cities.To this day Land Day is commemorated with demonstration, talks, and events all over Palestine. BADIL ( @badil_center ) is an independent, human rights non-profit orga...

WOMEN’S TRAINING SESSIONS Every week Athal works with groups of women who are patients in the community health workers program at Lajee Centre both from the Aida camp and the nearby Al-Azza / Beit Jibrin camp. From the very outset of the project, making the gym a space where women feel comfortable to exercise in and that provides training that suits their requirements was an important factor in the design of the space and the training methods we employ. Our training with the women’s groups focu...

Ainle playing football with some kids on a visit to the city Hebron. Photo: @sally_macmonagle

The ACLAÍ Palestine 2022 Crew with Coach Romi on a trip to Nablus a few weeks ago 🙌🏽

COACH PROFILE: Romi Romi has been a coach in ACLAÍ Palestine since we first opened the doors back in February 2020. Here is what he had to say about his role as a coach and what he would like for the future of ACLAÍ Palestine: “I started off as a circus coach in Lajee after I came back from 3 months of circus training in Spain. When ACLAÍ Palestine was just starting off in 2022 Salah asked me to be a coach in the gym, so I started to learn about coaching and the gym training and really liked ...

Tonight was a great day at the gym. Kindergarten class this morning, women's sessions during the day, the second session for the youths, and the very first training session for Jalam, Nidal, and Khaled. They are all sitting down in the first photo but that was only after a pretty tough introductory training session. Shukran and well done to the lads for coming down for coming down to do their first session tonight. Here's to many more sessions to come!

COACH PROFILE: Athal Athal is the Coordinator of the ACLAÍ Palestine unit of the Lajee Center and has been on board as a coach from the very beginning.Here's what Athal had to say about her involvement in the project and what she hopes for the future of ACLAÍ Palestine. “I studied occupational therapy in Bethlehem University and have been working as an occupational therapist since 2017. When I first heard of the idea to open ACLAÍ Palestine as a member of the Lajee Center board, I didn’t thin...

LATEST PROJECT GOALS I have decided to stay out here for a longer period than I had initially planned so we can make the most of the momentum that we have gained with the project over the last 3 or 4 weeks. Our goals for the project in the next 2 months are as follows: 1. Professional development of the coaching staff here at ACLAÍ Palestine. 2. Establish a strong training schedule for the various groups that are using the gym which include kids sessions, young men and young women, women's gr...

PROJECT UPDATE AND TRIP EXTENSION A chairde, here is a bit of an update on our trip and the project in general. The first week was hectic here between getting started with the work in the gym, documenting the clashes at the camp, music lesson, photography lessons, strategic planning for the gym, and filmmaking. After the first week when Síomha and Sally went home, Peadar and I were busy with interviews and getting film footage and when Peadar left last week I decided to extend my trip to be ab...

These are only some of the incredible shots taken by the kids in the @lajeecenter centre in Aida refugee centre in Palestine- it was the first day they they got to use some of cameras donated generously as part our fundraiser. I spent a couple of hours with the kids as we experimented with different lighting in and around the camp- I was so nervous before hand, thinking about language barriers and other trivial bits; however about two mins in, language had very little to do with anything and t...