Rabieh El Tayeh

I am a Palestinian born in Lebanon to refugee parents and therefore I am also called a refugee. I grew up in Shatila Camp and at a very young age started volunteering in children and youth centers in the camp in order to help my fellow refugee children, but also to help myself.

Before I started to work with just.childhood, I worked with Right to Play International for some years, where I professionalized and improved the idea to utilize sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children, youth and thus communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Our project just.childhood is a big dream for me on a personal and professional level. And not for me only, it is also a dream for the children of the camp, because our kindergarten is promoting learning according to the children`s needs, which is rare in our society. It reflects positively on the children, the parents, and the overall community, since we concentrate on play and life and social skills as educational activities that are desperately needed.