On June 12th, 2008, Prelude financed a day trip for 25 children who follow the weekly art classes in Silwan, Jerusalem. They visited an art gallery in the Israeli town Ramle, where the works of art were created by Palestinian and Israeli artists. The works were discussed, and later that day, the children participated in an art workshop led by an Israeli and a Palestinian instructor.
Silwan Library
In the last several weeks, Prelude has sponsored the acquisition of dozens of children books in Arabic and English in order to populate the shelves of the first library in Silwan, Jerusalem. Since the beginning of June, every week mothers have been reading stories to groups of children, and soon the library will be open for book lending.
Music for Iraqi Refugees
Once a month, Prelude sponsors music workshops in Iraqi refugee camps in Jordan. In June, the workshops were held in a center run by Relief International (www.ri.org), and about 40 children in the ages 8 to 16 participated.
Summer Games 2008 - A Call for Volunteers
The summer is sneaking our way and the preparations for the coming Summer Games 2008 have already started. Do you know anyone who is looking for a challenging vacation this summer? Is it you? The Summer Games 2008 crew is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to give workshops in music, art, theater, dance, sport or any other field of fun. The workshops will take place in the mornings, so the volunteers will be free in the afternoons. The Summer Games in Al-Azariyeh will take place between July 13 and July 23. In Silwan, activities are planned for the whole summer.
Knowledge in Arabic is not necessary; creativity and enthusiasm are!
For more information you can contact Fabienne van Eck at info@summergames2008.org or see www.summergames2008.org
“De nieuwe K” Articles
To follow the experiences of teaching music in Silwan, you can read the articles written by Fabienne van Eck and Danny Felsteiner in the bimonthly magazine De nieuwe K. De nieuwe K is a publication of the Art, Music and Dance Academies and the Faculty of Art in Leiden University. The articles are written in English, and you can find them here.
ANBI and iDEAL
Stichting Prelude Foundation was given the official status of "Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling" (ANBI) by the Dutch tax Office on 1st January 2008. This is important for our benefactors since the gifts and donations to such a foundation are deductable from income tax (within the applicable rules). Moreover, a foundation with an "ANBI" status does not have to pay inheritance tax. More information can be found on the website of the "Belastingdienst".
It is now possible to donate money on the Prelude website with iDEAL. This is a collaborative online payment system between several Dutch banks.
Upcoming Projects
To make the successful beginning long-lasting, Prelude needs your support.
Next to the expansion of the current projects, Bahibek ya Silwan and Summer Games 2008, we plan to support some new exciting projects.
In May/June Fabienne and Danny will join two Palestinian musicians from the West Bank, and give music workshop to Israeli children in the town of Sderot. This town lies close to the border with Gaza, and is constantly bombarded with missiles.
More projects are planned for 2008-2009, such as traditional Palestinian dance lessons, leadership training for youth and the first children’s library in the community center of Silwan, East Jerusalem.