Helen Patuck

Kitabna means “our book” in Arabic. Since 2014, Kitabna has been writing and illustrating multi-lingual children's books for families displaced by sectarian violence in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan and Jordan. Kitabna books are themed around life in refugee camps, and aim to create pride, learning and dignity in the stigmatized refugee experience. Since starting out in Beirut, Kitabna has expanded its outreach from the ITS camps of Lebanon to the wider Syrian, Palestinian and Yazedi diaspora in Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Palestine and Europe. Over 14,000 Kitabna books have been distributed to children in displacement now, including distribution with UNHCR, The Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children International. Our books have been used in many ways in emergency education responses: • As educational tools to keep reading alive when formal education is unavailable • As bridges between linguistically and culturally diverse communities • As naturally safe spaces for children suffering from PTSD to revisit and reorganize difficult memories of displacement • As sources of hope and inspiration to children and teachers in displacement Since 2015 we have been delivering teacher/parent trainings encompassing basic reading, story-telling and story-writing activities in displacement contexts. These have been successful and well-loved across Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan and Jordan. Our team consists of 5 core members, though we work with designers, proof-readers and different partners across the world: - Helen Patuck from the UK is the Founder, Author, Illustrator, and Creative Director of Kitabna - Asia Haidar from Syria is the Arabic Co-ordinator - Maria Chambers from the UK is the Educational Activities Coordinator of Kitabna - Federica Margini from Italy is the European Outreach and M&E Developer of Kitabna - Shannon Rayner from the UK is the Publishing Officer of Kitabna