Refugee Camp Project (ReCaP) is a collaborative project run by the IPPNW and IFMSA Palestine for medical students from around the world to spend a month in Palestine learning about the lives and healthcare needs of refugees affected by the ongoing conflict.

What are the aims of the project?

ReCap aims to educate Medical Students about the healthcare of Palestinian refugees in the context of the occupation more broadly. It is expected that with this education participants go on to educate others and advocate on behalf of those they have met during the project, as well as working to continue and expand the project for future years.

When and where: Palestine

The project takes place over four/five weeks in August 2016. We spend our time in the Palestinian West Bank, mainly in the city of Bethlehem, where the UN clinics of the refugee camps of Dheishe and Aida are located. The first, introductory week of the project takes place in Al-Quds University, whose campus is situated in Abu Dis (also in the West Bank and nearby to Bethlehem).

Besides, trips will be frequently organised to other cities such as Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus, Hebron...

What is the structure of the project?
What will we be doing?

The first week of ReCaP is an introductory week at Al-Quds university. Students will be staying at Abu-Dis campus, where they will meet the Palestinian coordinators and other students, both of whom play an essential role in the project. In Al-Quds university, international students will receive lectures, seminars and participate in workshops with the Palestinian students. During this week we will acquire a greater understanding of the history, situation and challenges of the conflict and the refugee status. Here is last year’s schedule, which may be however subjected to change.

The three remaining weeks will be spent in Bethlehem, where the students will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the challenges Palestinian refugees face. Mornings will consist of clinical internships at different refugee clinics and hospitals, and different activities will also be organised in the refugee camps and in collaboration with various institutions and NGOs working with refugees.