Laylac organize climbing training for kids and youth in the center in Dheisheh camp and also outside, in Al Makhrour area. Laylac has all the equipments for climbing in safety and an expert staff who teach this amazing sport.
The climbing project was born in 2017 after the director of Laylac visited Italy and was introduced to a climbing gym inside l’ acciaieria di Zam, a social center in the city of Milan. A collaboration between Laylac and Zam, led to the establishment of an ongoing youngsters and youth climbing project. The outcomes of this collaboration has been promising and creative in which a climbing wall was built on the rooftop of Laylac and has been used to provide practical training for children from Dheisheh refugee camp. Moreover, a group called West Climbing Bank was founded by Zam and Laylac, which brings Italian and Palestinian volunteers to climb together in Palestine. This group has further developed their idea and built 11 climbing roads on three points in al-Makhrour, an area located between Beit Jala and Battir village.
What means climbing in Battir
Battir is a Palestinian village located 6.5 km to the west of Bethlehem and considered as a natural heritage area of UNESCO. Al-Makhrur area, however, is a series of mountains lies between the city of Beit Jala and Battir village, an area that is considered C but still not seized by the Israeli occupation, and with a few old houses. This area, however, must be guarded by the Palestinians due to the constant raids by settlers and the Israeli army. The collaboration between Italians and Palestinians is not only a sport activities but also a political action against the attempts of the Israeli occupation to confiscate this land.
Our climbing activities
Moreover, Laylac now has all the equipments and materials available for the volunteers to practice this sport (ropes, harnesses, carabiners, gri-gri and shoes). The climber children have been provided with theoretical and practical trainings by specialists and expertise in climbing sport in order to assure their safety. Furthermore, the volunteers of Laylac organize trips and hiking events to Al-Makhrour area, and new volunteers and children are coming to learn this sport. In Laylac we organize training during the week, also in collaboration with the gym of PAMSD, located in Bethlehem, where the kids can learn the techniques (belay) in a total safety.