Since 2017, Tamer launched the Safe Spaces track in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to respond to the needs of children and youth living under harsh conditions due to the blockade, violence, and loss of safety. The program operates in five family centers and ten community libraries in Gaza, targeting children aged 6 to 18. It offers diverse activities that combine psychosocial support with creative expression, such as storytelling, drawing, music, and playwriting.
In one of the project sessions in Rafah, a group of children sat to draw "the house they dream of returning to." One of them drew a house without a roof but surrounded by many trees. When asked why, he said:
"I want the house to stay open... until my mother returns from the sea."
In moments like these, Tamer realizes that the story is capable of deconstructing pain and reconstructing it in a safe language. The project also works on training parents, educational counselors, and teachers on how to employ storytelling and art in psychological counseling. Over the past years, the Institute has organized more than 100 training workshopsfor educators and parents on protection concepts and methods of dialogue with children following trauma. Annually, more than 2,000 children and youth and 2,500 parents benefit from the Safe Spaces programs, implemented by a team of 100 educational counselors and art therapists who were qualified in cooperation with specialized psychosocial support institutions.