Ramallah, 10/12/2018 - The Welfare Association, Bank of Palestine, the Muna and Bassem Hishmeh Foundation, the Burqa Village Council and the United Holy Land Fund inaugurated the 30th Bayyara playground in the village of Burqa in the district of Ramallah, as part of Al Bayyara Playground Project, which aims to establish hundreds of entertainment playgrounds for children in the various Palestinian governorates, to provide fun and safe environments for children. The area of Al Bayyara playground in Burqa village is approximately 1.5 dunams, furnished with toys and a water fountain.
The inauguration ceremony featured the participation of Mr. Ahmad Khatib, the Director of Municipalities and Civil Affairs in the Ramallah and Al Bireh, on behalf of Dr. Layla Ghannam; Mr. Jadallah Rayyan, the Director of Bank of Palestine in the village of Deir Dibwan; Mr. Bassem Hishmeh and his spouse Muna Hishmeh; representatives from the United Holy Land Fund; Ms. Dima Irshaid, Director of Individual Loans at the Welfare Association; in addition to Mr. Adnan Barakat, the President of Burqa Village Council; village council members; and representatives from civil society organizations and local public figures.
Ms. Dima Irshaid, Director of Individual Loans at the Welfare Association, stated that Al Bayyara Playgrounds Project is part of the Association’s strategy and goals in community development, especially the Program for the Development of Infrastructure in service of local communities and children in particular. She stressed the importance of Al Bayyara Playgrounds in terms of their ability to provide safe environments for children to play and vent outside their home environment, provide appropriate spaces for parents to spend time with their children, promote community ties between families sharing the same neighborhood, and alleviate the rate of injuries among children as a result of playing on the streets. Irshaid expressed her gratitude towards Bank of Palestine for this extremely essential contribution to the community, for the Muna and Bassem Hishmeh Foundation, the United Holy Land Fund, and the Burqa community in the United States for funding Al Bayyara, as well as the Burqa Village Council for donating the land and contributing to the establishment of the playground.
On behalf of Bank of Palestine, Mr. Jadallah Rayyan stated that “so far, the bank contributed to the establishment of 30 playgrounds for children, as part of Al Bayyara Playgrounds Project, in an expression of giving to the our community and our children.” He added that “Al Bayyara project is among the projects implemented by Bank of Palestine over the years as a result of the many injuries that our children are subjected to, of which many resulted in death.” Rayyan expressed his appreciation for the swift response of the bank and its partners who contributed to the success of this project, and managed to establish 30 playgrounds that offer safe, spacious and clean environments for children to play. He highly esteemed the bank’s humanitarian message to deeply root the people in the land and its persistence in building and achieving community development.
Mr. Ahmad Khatib, the Director of Municipalities and Civil Affairs in the Ramallah and Al Bireh, stressed the importance of the project and the inauguration of the new playground that aims to serve the villagers in Burqa and neighboring villages. He valued the cooperation between Bank of Palestine and its partners, and the role of the Hishmeh family in this national project that serves the Palestinian people.
Mr. Bassem Hishmeh stressed the importance of encouraging Palestinian diaspora communities to contribute to the development and expansion of this project in the various Palestinian areas. Hishmeh expressed his gratitude for the Bank and all its partners for contributing to one of the most important development projects in Palestine.
This year marks the 35th anniversary since the establishment of the Welfare Association, which is a Swiss organization with a branch registered in Palestine. The Welfare Association was established in 1983, and conducts its work in Palestine and the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It implements developmental and relief programs through the following seven programs: education, community development, youth empowerment, support for the orphans, rehabilitation of historic towns and the Palestinian Museum.