GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A group of young artists and activists in the Gaza Strip launched an initiative in early December in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Gaza municipality and the Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage in Gaza to rehabilitate Kamalaia School in the old part of Gaza City.

The initiative dubbed “Baytkom Amer” (roughly translated as “Your home will always be happy”) is part of the Culture, Arts and Community Participation project promoting the preservation of the cultural heritage of the old city, with a focus on enhancing community dialogue and raising awareness of the importance of culture, which is conducive to such a dialogue.

The project is funded by the Abdul Mohsin al-Qattan Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The initiative’s coordinator, Abdullah al-Razi, told Al-Monitor that Kamalaia School, which is located in the heart of the old city and was closed in the 1970s, is nearly 800 years old, dating back to the Mamluk era; it was built of ancient limestone on an area of 800 square meters (0.2 acres). He explained that the school had been abandoned for a long time and turned into a dumpster for the neighborhood, while many parties were seeking to take advantage of the building and turn it into a residential or commercial compound given its vital location.