” Salam, may peace be upon you. My name is Shayma, I am an accident and emergency nurse from the United Kingdom and will be taking part in the medical and healthcare volunteer programme at the Excellence Center. I decided to take a short career break and come visit the beautiful city of Hebron and whilst I was here I wanted to volunteer my time and knowledge to the community. I visited Palestine in 2014 and was eager to return any chance I got and felt taking a break from nursing to volunteer would the the perfect opportunity to return to Palestine. Whilst I was researching programmes to volunteer with in Palestine I came across the Excellence Center, the website was very detailed and was updated on a regular basis. The medical and healthcare programme appealed to me as I thought I would be suited in delivering workshops related to global health and raise awareness of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle as this would reduce the chances of people developing illnesses later in life. Furthermore, I wanted to learn basic conversational Arabic, which the centre is more than happy to help with.

I arrived in Hebron very early in the morning and was taken to meet my host family via a private taxi. The family have been great in supporting us these past few days. I have struggled with having conversations due to the language barrier however Arabic apps have really helped in translating and our host father speaks some English. The family have been very welcoming and eager to learn English just as much as I am to learn Arabic. As I have visited Palestine before, I was very familiar with the hospitality of the people and the eagerness to help you. Furthermore, I have found walking around the streets is completely safe, and have no concerns whatsoever.
During my time here I hope to be able to speak conversational Arabic and to continue my studies when I get back to the UK. I have been in Hebron for three days and so far I have taken part in a workshop teaching children under 10 some basic English words. I was pleased at the end of the session as the children could say “My name is …” “What’s you name?” I am excited to teach more English classes during my stay. I am planning to deliver workshops to nursing students regarding the main health concerns in Palestine and exchange knowledge with the Palestinian nursing students. It will be a challenge as I will have to attempt to translate English words/terms into Arabic but I am very excited. I have also taken part in a conversational Arabic session which involved role plays speaking in Arabic which was interesting.
So far, I am enjoying my time here in Hebron and am excited to explore this vibrant city, and travel around Palestine. Meeting other international volunteers has allowed me to share knowledge and experiences. The people at the centre have been accommodating and ready to help with anything that I require. The next few weeks will definitely be an enlightening and interesting experience, which I am looking forward to. Thank you for reading, I hope you will come to visit Hebron and experience this beautiful culture and meet the amazing people that live here. Masalama.”