Students from 10 Qatar Foundation (QF) schools have come together to plant 50 olive trees, symbolising their support and solidarity for Palestine.These trees, situated in Education City’s "Gaza Garden", represent unity, resilience, and a deep connection to the land.The student-led initiative is being overseen by Qatar Academy Doha (QAD) meditational sciences teacher and counsellor Rola El-Annan."Our goal is to inspire students through diverse learning activities to reconsider and re-evaluate the perspectives, beliefs, values, definitions, and emotions that have shaped our past experiences and brought us to where we are today," she said. "We aim to harness this learning to create a better future for the world."El-Annan stressed that the QAD prioritises the opinions of students, and places a strong emphasis on nurturing self-awareness and self-expression, and aims to actively promote critical thinking, emotional depth, and authenticity while providing safe spaces for students to share their thoughts."We are encouraging students to take the lead in these activities and, in turn, inspire others to do the same, as fostering curious and creative leaders is one of our key objectives at the QAD," she added. "Our students have displayed various emotions in response to the situation in Palestine, openly sharing their feelings and inquiring about what is happening.""We are committed to providing them with support during this time, and this initiative is one of the ways we do so," El-Annan said.She added that the goal of the initiative is to also highlight the importance of sustainability."The olive tree, an eco-friendly and sustainable plant, provides fruit, oil, and timber," El-Annan stated. "Its wood has a low carbon footprint, and its products are environmentally friendly."Ibrahim Ali Bojssoum, a 10-year-old student at Tariq Bin Ziad School, said: "We have expressed our support for Palestinian by planting olive trees here in Qatar. It made us feel like active participants, sparking our curiosity to explore and learn more, because this cause is relevant to all of us.""I'm happy that our school is teaching us about the situation in Palestine," he said. "I am happy to be part of this project – I know that planting these trees will become an important memory for me."Kenan Nizar Muhammad, an 11-year-old student at Qatar Academy Al Khor, said: "I really like the idea of planting an olive tree with my schoolmates and learning about what's happening in Palestine.""It makes me happy to see them care, understand why supporting Palestine is important, and their empathy towards me as a Palestinian – they understand how I am feeling," he said.
November 13, 2023 | 12:29 AM