Blossom Hill Fellow Rami Khader is bringing much-needed psychosocial interventions for the children in refugee camps in the West Bank. Malak, 21, is one of them. She lives with her family in Tqoa’ village in Bethlehem. Born with physical disabilities resulting from cleft lip and palate, which causes speech difficulties, and partial visual impairment, Malak has had to endure adverse social and psychological difficulties. She experienced emotions of constant grief, deficiency, fear, anxiety, and pessimism about her future. She said: ”I was weak, afraid, and couldn’t go out of my house. I was being bullied a lot by people and this caused me great sadness.”

Following the initial assessment of her needs, the counselor developed a tailored psychosocial intervention plan that included engaging Malak in individual counseling sessions, which helped enhance her well-being. Malak also became engaged in the program’s vocational training and took a course on “candle-making”. She said: ”The most significant thing that the project has offered me is the vocational training which gave me hope for my future.”