Al Tafawk Update 17th September 2026

Many of the children attending Al Tafawk have been staying in rooms at the Arab American University. Although these rooms are overcrowded, with extended families often sharing a single room, at least they provided a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, the University is now asking these families to pay rent - a financial burden that many simply cannot afford. As a result, families have been forced to leave the rooms and are now living in makeshift shelters in the open countryside.

For those who remain at the University, the journey to Al Tafawk is becoming increasingly hazardous, with temporary checkpoints appearing at different times and causing chaos. Palestinians needing to travel are therefore doing so with heightened levels of anxiety. This includes the Al Tafawk minibus, which collects and returns the children each day.

What used to be a fifteen-minute journey from the University to Jenin City can now take hours. Mona does everything she can to ensure that, even if the children living in the woods cannot reach the Center, they at least receive food and water. When necessary, she walks miles herself to make sure it reaches them. 

The new intake of children has started attending Kindergarten. However, the paperwork required has become something of a headache. As happened during the Nakba in 1948, residents of Jenin Refugee Camp left their homes in January 2025 without their belongings, assuming they would be able to return. This included paperwork and important documents such as birth certificates.

Mona is struggling to obtain an accurate picture from some families. Some have simply forgotten their child’s exact date of birth, while others may deliberately withhold or obscure the information so that their child can remain at Kindergarten for an additional year. If a child is found to be six years old or above, they are no longer eligible to attend the Kindergarten. 

Although schooling in Palestine is compulsory from the age of six, when children enter first grade, there are currently no places available for the refugee children. Nor are there places for those in Grade 10, who are around 15 years old.

For students between the ages of seven and fourteen, minimal schooling is being provided by UNRWA  -  three days a week in government school buildings. However, there is also only one UNRWA minibus, which limits the number of students able to attend if they are unable to make the journey themselves.

In spite of all these challenges, the Kindergarten continues to provide a place of safety, fun and learning for the children. And, just occasionally, their journey to Al Tafawk provides a moment of awe and wonder.

Mona described to me how, one day, the minibus was stopped at a checkpoint by soldiers. Some of the children waved and smiled at the young men, clad in military uniforms and carrying weapons. Children themselves, Mona reported.

Amazingly, one of the soldiers returned their smiles with a very small one of his own.

For the rest of the day, the children told the story of the smiling soldier to anyone who would listen.

A human connection in an increasingly inhumane environment.

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