LONDON: The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East launched its Gaza Summer Fun Weeks program on Sunday, which will benefit over 130,000 children. With the Gaza Strip enduring repeating cycles of armed violence and a 16-year blockade, the UNRWA aims to prioritize the well-being and mental health of Palestinian refugees. According to a recent UNRWA study, 38 percent of children showed symptoms of functional impairment that affects their everyday lives. The UNRWA’s program is part of its relief and support operations in response to the occupation’s psychological toll on the region’s people. The initiative, which will run until Aug. 3, will attempt to provide critical psychosocial support to children in a relatively safe and nurturing atmosphere. “The ongoing conflict is having a devastating psychological impact on the children of Gaza. The Summer Fun Weeks play a critical role in reintroducing a much-needed sense of stability into their lives while simultaneously offering them an opportunity to simply enjoy (the activities),” Thomas White, the director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, said. “At the end of the day, children are living in a war zone and these activities allow them to simply be children,” White added.