Written By: Shaden Abdul-Rahman

On a lovely Saturday two of 7iber crew headed to Yarmouk area (Eastern Amman) to meet with the kids at Bashayer Park. It all started when Ameen Sanjaqieh and his friends decided to clean the streets of their neighborhood. Nearly one month later, their streets were re-visited by our team to be part of a full-day of fun activities under the slogan “Clean at Home, Clean Everywhere”, a slogan created by Ameen himself.

Seeing how excited they were about the new happenings in their area; Tatawor, GAM, Yarmouk Directorate as well as Amman Child Friendly City and Sijal joined forces to give them more in this joyful time of the year.

Everyone gathered in the park while boys and girls took turns in planting flowers. The idea was to instill in them a sense of responsibility towards their park , where they spend their leisure time playing football and riding bicycles, combined with an appreciation of nature’s beauty.

Afterwards, the kids took turns again in painting one side of the surrounding wall with the help of artist Mira Abu-Ghazaleh. After a couple of hours, we could see a gorgeous blue sky behind tall trees and a short wall made of rich brown bricks. Painting seemed ageless when adults and children stood side by side, looking enchanted by the cans of paint and the brushes laying on the floor.

Sijal talked to a few Jordanian musicians in order to play some good music for the children and although some of them refused to come because it’s taking place in Ashrafiyeh; Tala Tutinji, Tareq Al-Jundi and Ma’an Al-Sayed seemed genuinely happy to be there among the young crowd. Tala had the boys and girls involved from the beginning, clapping and tapping the floor to (the beat). Tareq and Ma’an played Fairouz’s Nassam Alayna and a Turkish piece.

Tala, Ma’an and Tareq teaching the kids

The activities ended with a children’s play about the environment.