Age: 10 years
Address: Beit Hanoun – Al-Baali Street
Library they frequent: Mona Waleed Al-Qattan Library
Host institution of the library: Women's Activity Center Association - Beit Hanoun
Address of the host institution (library): Beit Hanoun, next to the southern gate of Beit Hanoun Hospital.
The story:

Mona Walid Al-Qattan Library was established by the Attaa Palestine Charitable Society on 04/09/2005, at the headquarters of the Women's Activity Center Association in Beit Hanoun, funded by the honorable Dr. Walid Al-Qattan.  

One morning, as I was heading to my work as the librarian of Mona Walid Al-Qattan Library at the Women's Activity Center Association, a little girl named Waad caught my attention as she passed by the association on her way to school, looking sad. I waited until she came closer and asked her why she was sad. She told me that she was sad because she goes to school alone and doesn’t have friends like her to go with her. She also said that she loves reading stories but doesn’t find suitable books at school, and she loves to play and join others, but she doesn’t find many children to play with. I then hugged her and told her that I work at this association and that we have a library that is visited by many children like her. I asked if she would like to visit us after school, and I would give her a good story. Waad agreed, and indeed, after she returned from school, she came to the library where I was waiting for her. I talked to her, gave her a story, and asked her to read it and bring it back the next day.

She tells me what she gained from the story, and the next day she came back bringing the story and told me what she gained from it. I discussed the story with her and with several other children who were in the library. Since that day, she has been coming to the library regularly because she found what she was looking for, and she made friends from inside the library who go to school together and come to the library together. She even passes by the association's gate happily, and she was able to build new friendships at school and brought them to the library with her.