Help us build a new playground for Sderot's children.

The unusual nature of these happy, normal park scenes is that they are taking place in Sderot, an Israeli town on the border with Gaza. Over an eight year period, more than 10,000 rockets rained down on the town. When the 'Code Red' warning sounded, as it would do several times a day, you had 15 seconds to get to a shelter. 15 seconds is not very long. Some people died, many were injured, all were affected psychologically. In the year since Operation Cast Lead, there has been a lull in the rocket attacks.

The people of Sderot have been attempting to reclaim a sense of normality in their lives. In 2009, for our Green Sunday Appeal, we raised the funds to build a beautiful park, which is playing an important part in the new life of the town. With 85% of children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, our current appeal is aiming to build a new playground next to the park, at a cost of £200,000.

Will you help the children of Sderot?   To support the appeal, you can give online here.

"We need anything that can help this place, help us lead normal lives. Help us build nice places so it will be good to bring up children here." Ella Abukasis was a popular, fun-loving, 16-year-old schoolgirl who doted on her 10-year-old brother Tamir. On January 15, 2005, she was walking Tamir home from the local youth club when the 'Code Red' sirens began booming across the town, giving them 15 seconds to take cover from an incoming Qassam rocket fired from Gaza. There was nowhere to hide. Ella lay her brother down next to a wall and shielded his body with her own. Seconds later, a Qassam rocket slammed into the street beside them, sending shards of jagged metal and debris scorching through the air. Tamir escaped with relatively minor injuries, shielded by his guardian angel, but Ella took the full force of the blast. She was rushed to hospital, unconscious and suffering from critical injuries. Three days later, doctors declared Ella brain-dead and she was disconnected from life-support. "She was a very special girl. She had a special love for people", says her father Yoni. "It was no surprise that in the 10 seconds she had to decide what to do about the Qassam, her first priority was to protect her brother." After 8 years of rocket attacks from Gaza, the people of Sderot are attempting to reclaim a sense of normality in their lives. One step in this process has been to build a new park, which was made possible through the generosity of JNF supporters here in the UK. Yoni says, "We need anything that can help this place, help us lead normal lives. Help us build nice places so it will be good to bring up children here." To support the appeal, you can give online here.

"There aren't really any other places in town as nice as that one." Adir Basad was only 14 years old when he was hit by a Qassam rocket in the street near his home in Sderot in December 2006. The shrapnel ripped through him, lacerating the right side of his body, shattering his right leg and slicing off his left kneecap. He was in intensive care for two days and it was a year before he could walk again. And he was the lucky one – his friend, who was hit in the same attack, lost a leg. This is an insight into what life in Sderot had become after 8 years of rocket attacks from Gaza. The people of Sderot are trying to rebuild a semblance of normal life, and JNF UK is committed to play its part. In 2009 thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we were able to help build a new park in Sderot. "I've been to the new JNF park a lot", says Adir. "It's a great place. I go there with my friends, we can sit, have a barbecue. There's a ping-pong table. We play tennis and other games. Mess around. There aren't really any other places in town as nice as that one." To support the appeal, you can give online here.

"My children really love this place. They enjoy climbing on the play animals and playing near the fountain." Odelia Ben-Porat has three children under six. She and her husband moved to Sderot at the height of the rocket attacks, with 200 other young families, to support the town's population. She says Sderot desperately needs more green spaces. "It's charming here," she said of the JNF park. "My children really love this place. They enjoy climbing on the play animals and playing near the fountain." "It also makes the city look much nicer. It's really aesthetic. With all these concrete shelters all over the place the city doesn't look so pretty. This has been done really well. It's a beautiful place. "I was in shock when I first arrived in Sderot four years ago. I wanted to take the children out and there simply wasn't anywhere to go. It was surprising because this is a town full of children. They told me the municipality couldn't build new parks because they simply didn't have the budget. "Every parent knows it's impossible to take children out unless there's somewhere appropriate. It's very important for child development. The problem here in Sderot with the rockets is that children don't get to go outside enough," she said. To support the appeal, you can give online here.

"People dumped anything here. Now it's changed completely. It's a beautiful place." Aliza and Andre Barda have lived in Sderot for the past 40 years. Now retired, they have raised nine children in their home overlooking the main entrance road. Last year, the elderly couple had a narrow escape. "A rocket fell on the road right outside the house, very close to us" says Andre. "The blast smashed the water pipe and shattered all the windows in our house. We were at home when it happened, it was a miracle that no-one was hurt. We didn't have a shelter back then, so we took cover in a corner. We were so frightened." Now, the Barda's house overlooks the new park, built with the help of JNF UK. Aliza and Andre were delighted when the landscapers arrived last year and began planting flowers and building the wooden pergola. "It was a ditch, full of mud and rubbish and dirt," Andre says. "People dumped anything here. Now it's changed completely. It's a beautiful place. People come from all over town to use it, particularly when it's warm. It was full of people all summer. Young people come here to play and use the ping-pong table. Classes of children come and celebrate the kids' birthdays here and have parties under the pergola. In the summer there was a bride here in her wedding dress having her picture taken before the ceremony. It was so beautiful." To support the appeal, you can give online here.