School principal Jamileh Sarsour can hardly contain her joy. This week, she had her staff at the Azoun Atmah School for Girls received the distinguished school award.
In an interview with PNN, Principal Sarsour says she returned from a visit to San Francisco two months ago to her hometown of Azoun Atmah, just up against the Green Line.
“When I took over the administration of this school in 1998, which is now isolated behind the separation wall, it had only five classrooms”, she stated.
But upon the staff’s insistence and with help from the local community and some of Sarsour’s relatives, the school now has 17 classrooms in which 370 students study.
“The school is built on a total area of approximately 2,400 square meters. A model library was built, which can compete with the major libraries in the West Bank in addition to a modern computer lab”, she added..
The school’s development, however, has been achieved against all odds. Sarsour explains that the school is located between two gates from the direction of Qalqilya and Kufr Qassem.
But in spite of this unenviable situation, the school has prospered and was able to win the most distinguished school award in the Qalqilya district.
The village residents and the people of Qalqilya in general have taken this achievement as a victory for the district and an overcoming of the Israeli occupation and its separation wall.
