See our photos of the new school in Khirbet Samra on flickr here 

Today, March the 3rd 2012, a group of volunteers from Jordan Valley Solidarity joined the community of Khirbet Samra in the north of the Jordan Valley, they built a new tent school for the children in the community. There are twenty five children who will  benefit from this new achievement. These are all children who have not been able to atttend school, because the nearest one is 20 km from Samra, and the community have reported regular abuse from settlers and soldiers.

The volunteers worked since early in the morning under a rainy sky. The children offered flowers to the volunteers and the families gave their usual warm welcome and traditional food.New community school in Khirbet Samra

It was an extraordinary journey. Everybody enjoyed the day and the result is a new school in the Jordan Valley, which will begin classes immediately on Sunday 4th March.

This community, tucked away at the head of a valley, is surrounded, with a settlement up above it on the hill, the settlement road covering the riedg eof the hill, and a massive army base at the entrance to the valley, which is fequently used for ‘youth camps’ and ‘passing out’ ceremonies.

Just under a year ago the harrassment of this community intensified, with the army issuing demolition orders, creating constant fear and tension for the community, then returning repeatedly and destroying the community’s buildings.

Throughout the last year volunteers from Jordan Valley Solidarity have sought to stand alongside this farming community as they stand firm against Israel’s attempts to remove them from their land, and rebuild their demolished shleters.