When the Israeli military conducted a raid outside Balata Boys School, teachers and students sheltered inside and turned to new techniques to help themselves stay calm.
“We had to keep them calm”
It was meant to be a day of celebration
Inside Balata Boys School, teachers and students were preparing to honour the top-achieving learners. Parents were expected to join, and the hallways were filled with excitement.
Then, the sounds of explosions and live gunfire shattered the air.
“At first we thought it was far away,” recalls Nour Jabber, the school’s assistant principal, who has worked as an educator for 20 years. “But within minutes, it was happening just beside the school. The students were frightened. We knew we had to keep them safe and calm.”
The teachers quickly followed the emergency plan, moving children away from windows and gathering them in a sheltered room. Outside, the raid continued for nearly two hours. Inside, something remarkable unfolded.
Only two weeks earlier, ten teachers from Balata Boys School had attended the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Better Learning Programme (BLP) training – a psychosocial support initiative supported by Education Cannot Wait (ECW). The programme equips teachers with practical tools to help children manage stress, restore calm, and regain focus after traumatic experiences.
“When the attack started, we used the breathing and music techniques we had just learned,” says Nour. “It was the first time we tried them during a real emergency. The children started to calm down – and so did we.”
Balata camp is the most populous refugee camp in the West Bank. Established in 1950 for Palestinian refugees who were expelled by Israeli forces or forced to flee during the establishment of the state of Israel, the camp is now home to tens of thousands of Palestinians who have lived through decades of occupation and instability.
Frequent Israeli military raids – at least 59 in just the first nine months of this year – leave children and teachers constantly on edge.
“Sometimes, we have night raids just a week apart,” says Nour. “The children are used to it – but that doesn’t make it easier.”
After the incident, the teachers who had received BLP training shared what they had learned with the rest of the staff, ensuring that all 19 teachers could support students in the same way.
No one was injured that day, but the emotional toll was heavy. For Nour, the training has provided more than just techniques – it has offered hope.
“We are thankful to NRC for providing us with such training,” she says. “This kind of support nurtures both students and teachers. It helps us continue teaching, even in the most difficult times.”
In a community living under occupation and subject to constant violence, the smallest moments of calm can become the first step toward healing.
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