Dar al Amal boys



 Dar al Amal is a juvenile home in Ramallah for boys.  Some are there because they have dropped out of school and gotten into trouble.  Others are there because of severe family problems.  but for whatever reason, Dar al Amal is a place they can begin to get their life back together.  for the last three years we have been connecting with these boys,  enjoying barbecues, and discussions with them.  

This month we did something more ambitious. In order to give the boys a break in the hot summer months we brought them out to Living Stones from Ramallah.  We had a discussion with them, enjoyed a good meal, then took all the gang swimming in a pool in Bir Zeit.   After the meal we walked with the boys down some back roads behind the village to the pool.  I asked one of their supervisors if there was any chance they would try to run away.  He said there was no chance.  The boys are taught to look out for each other and encourage each other in the right direction.  Indeed we had no problem at all.

Outside the pool there were some very hot little kids who looked like they really wanted a swim, but they had to be satisfied with playing around on their donkeys!

What made this day special is that it was funded in large part by retirees from a retirement center in Pennsylvania who had heard about the boys and wanted to help.  when I shared this with the boys it really made them happy that someone cares for them.