Children, Water Bottles and Helicopters

Today I joined Ann, a volunteer at St. George's College and wife of the College's program director, on her weekly volunteer time at Spafford Children's Centre in the Old City. The community centre has a fabulous history, changing over the last 100+ years from being a community of religious American colonists (the owners of which also built the American Colony Hotel, which is right nextdoor to the Cathedral/College), an orphanage, a hospital, and a school...

Now, the Spafford Children's Center provides health care (through a small clinc that offers vaccinations and checkups, follow-up appointments), special education (speech therapy, language support, learning difficulties), psycho-social services and assistance gaining access to social welfare. 


Ann works with a children's program providing space and guidance for children to do crafts and play games. Many of the children are disadvantaged and are recommended to the program because they have trouble in school. Opportunity to paint, colour, and do crafts like make masks or play with glitter and stickers are simply not available at home. The crafts are messy and require both space (not likely if a family of 10 lives in a three-room apt) and disposable income.


Since the children do not learn arts and crafts in school, their hand-eye coordination is poorly developed, and outside of sibling/relatives, they do not know how to openly share. The volunteers try to instill patience (of which the children seem to have little of), respect for others and a sense of how to share. 


I also received a tour by and heard the history of the Center by the director of the Centre, Dr. Jantien Dajani. While we were in the clinic, a Muslim woman holding her baby daughter appeared very distressed and had obviously been crying. Dr. Dajani explained that she had taken a trip to visit family and her husband told her not to bother returning. The Centre was trying to find a way to help her gain access to social assistance, which she would not qualify for.

I literally felt my heart break for this woman.

On our way back to the Cathedral/College we passed two little boys (maybe 3 or 4 and 5 or 6). They were playing with empty plastic bottles. Neither of us saw it coming, but one of the bottles came flying toward us, having been deliberately chucked at our heads by the older of the two. Luckily it was empty! Ann turned to say "No!" to him, at which point the youngest threatened to throw one of the two bottles he held. Again, we said "No!" quite forcefully. He did throw it. I bent down and picked it up and started to walk away with it (obviously, because that is what my response would be to a child at home who did such a thing).

As any 3 or 4 year old having his toy taken away would, he started to cry/yell. I realized the empty bottle probably WAS his toy and I couldn't bring myself to actually walk away with it. I turned around after two steps, looked at him and said "we don't throw bottles at people" and handed it back to him. He said "sorry" very quietly and walked away.

My heart broke again.

A heavy military / police presence is out around the Old City today, particularly around Herod's Gate. Anticipating of a "peaceful" protest against the flotila incident this afternoon means checkpoints are severely backed up and are refusing many people entry. Helicopters circling overhead, a sign of anticipation of trouble, suggest there is a lack of trust in the prospect of "peace."