SOS Children’s Villages Palestine hosted Mr. Claudio Croce, International Director of Operations, and Ms. Anushka Gopaul, Children’s Village Representative. Over five days, the delegation learned about the organization’s programs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and met teams, partners, and families in the field across the West Bank.

The delegation began its visit at the National Office in Bethlehem, where it was welcomed by Mrs. Ghada Hirzallah, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Palestine, and the National Management Team. A meeting with the management team followed, with colleagues from Gaza joining by video call. The team presented key projects achievements and the challenges facing the work. The delegation then visited SOS Children’s Village Bethlehem, toured its facilities, and learned about daily life in the village. The day ended with a performance by the children’s choir.

On the second day, the delegation visited several partner associations in the West Bank Emergency Response Project, along with the child-friendly spaces established under the project. It then travelled to Hebron Governorate, where it took part in the opening of the “Safe Space” Youth Empowerment Centre in partnership with Halhul Municipality. The delegation also visited a family in the Family Strengthening Program and heard the story of the small business the family launched with the program’s support. Seeing these projects on the ground gave the delegation a close look at how partnerships become real spaces where children find safety, and where young people find a place to express themselves and build their skills.

The third day was dedicated to the northern West Bank. The delegation visited a partner association working with families displaced from the refugee camps, and attended the launch meeting of the project “Strengthening Community Structure in Northern West Bank,” with representatives of the governorates and five grassroots partner associations from Tubas, Jenin, Salfit, Nablus, and Tulkarm. Representatives of the associations stressed the importance of SOS Children’s Villages’ work in the north, noting that the services it provides are unique under the current circumstances, and that the need for them keeps growing as hardships continue.

The visit concluded with an internal meeting with the management team, where the work as a whole was reviewed in light of what the delegation had seen over the course of the visit. Mr. Claudio commended the SOS Children’s Villages Palestine team and the organization’s work on the ground. In his remarks, he thanked the Emergency Response Program team in Gaza and the West Bank team for their efforts amid the challenges in Palestine, and expressed his continued support for the team.

Commenting on the visit, Ghada Hirzallah, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Palestine, said: “Having the International Office with us in the field, from the south of the West Bank to the north, confirms that children, families, and young people in Palestine are at the heart of the organization’s attention. We believe a family cannot grow strong on its own. It needs a community around it and institutions close to it. That is why we are expanding our presence and building real partnerships that protect children in the long term, not only in times of crisis.”

The visit comes at a time when families in the West Bank are living through harsh conditions, from displacement from their homes in the camps to the loss of their income, and the pressure this places on their ability to care for their children. SOS Children’s Villages Palestine continues its work in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to protect children and support their families, so that every child grows up in a safe home, with a family able to care for them.