Dalia's Life in Palestine
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Dalia Nassar is a fifth grader at the Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah, Palestine. She’s 10 years old and has two brothers. Ramallah is just north of Jerusalem.

At school, Dalia studies math, science, social studies, religion, art, music, drama, English, German and Arabic, which is the language of her people, the Palestinians.

Dalia likes English very much and enjoys speaking English with her aunt who is from America and who lives in Ramallah. Dalia also likes Arabic, and enjoys reading Arabic literature and writing her own stories in Arabic.

Music is another favorite subject, and she enjoys singing. She likes Palestinian music, especially songs about the people who have died in the ongoing struggle in Palestine.

Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah has 495 students – 40 percent are Christian and 60 percent are Muslim. There are separate religion classes for each group. Dalia says that all the kids get along very well.

Life for Dalia and her schoolmates is not always calm. Palestine is marked by frequent conflict and many people have been injured or killed. But at school, Dalia feels safe and secure.

At home, Dalia likes to play with her brothers, Wadie and Husam. After dinner, she helps with the dishes, does homework, watches TV or does traditional Palestinian needlework.

A popular food for kids in Ramallah is hummus, which is mashed chickpeas, mixed with sesame butter, lemon and garlic. It’s eaten with bread. Another popular dish is made with meloukhia, which is similar to spinach. It’s chopped very fine and then mixed with ground meat and cooked with lemon and garlic. Kids like lasagna too.

Dalia goes to Sunday school at the Lutheran Church of Hope before attending services at the Catholic Church where her family belongs. The Lutheran Church of Hope now has 415 members. In the last several years, more than 1,000 members have moved to the United States.