You are here:

Feature: Gazan child excels in programing, electronic game designing

0 Comment(s)

E-mail Xinhua, May 08, 2021

Adjust font size:

by Sanaa Kamal

GAZA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Nour al-Din Fifil, a Palestinian child from Gaza city, is known for his skills of programming and designing electronic games.

Ping pong, Fruit variations, Cut watermelon, Wallball are only a few of the electronic games produced and designed by this 13-year-old boy.

Al-Din Filfil started learning programming when he was five, by watching his elder brother working as a web programmer.

At that time, he felt that programming was like a fantasy, so he tried to imitate his brother, taking his first step in that complex field through trial and error.

"In the beginning, I started to produce short videos that relied on optical illusions. When I finished the first one, I asked my brother to go through it and tell me his opinion. He was surprised and praised my work," he recalled, flashing a smile.

From there, things only got better. His elder brother decided to teach him how to design 2D electronic games by using a Java programming language.

By the age of ten, Filfil became a ready programmer. He was the most famous student in school who was able to design electronic games and already produced seven of them.

Moreover, he also mastered programming applications for smartphones that were designed to help other children in their education.

"My favorite subject is technology, as it teaches me about programming and designing," he said, adding that he would still like to improve his skills.

In a bid to achieve that goal, Filfil joined an institution called Rusul which is located in Gaza and specializes in programming and designing.

Filfil, as well as other 42 children, go to the organization three times a week to learn programming and designing electronic games and applications.

"Usually, we attract children who have a high degree of intelligence," Dana al-Lababidy, supervisor of the programming department at the foundation, told Xinhua.

The program, called Empowering Children for a Better Future, lasts three years, the 29-year-old woman said. "In the first year, children are prepared by going through specialized educational curriculum that are comparable to those taught in universities," she added.

In the second year, the student will be able to start their programming project, whether it is websites or 2D electronic games.

The last one is the year of achievement, where children can design their own games and websites that will eventually become their source of income.

"This is what we aspire to achieve in the institution in order to create a better future for the children of Gaza," al-Lababidi said, while helping Filfil in fixing his new mobile application.

After they finish their projects, Filfil and his friends are supposed to market their projects through freelance platforms, with the help of their parents, as they are not entitled to work at a young age, she explained.

The services provided by the foundation are not limited to technological education only. It also provides psychological, health and social services and economic empowerment that help children overcome obstacles that may prevent them from completing their educational path, according to Sufyan Bader, director of the foundation.

"We believe that creativity and talent are born from the womb of suffering, especially since the people of Gaza live in unstable political and economic conditions, which certainly negatively affect social life," the 37-year-old told Xinhua.

"It is important to create a generation capable of developing society with their technological and life skills, through which they become useful individuals and are able to challenge the difficult life they live in," he added.

The Russell Foundation was established in the Gaza Strip in 2018, while it started to receive children in 2019.

Now, Filfil is ready to walk his first step towards earning money through his new programming project and designing a 50-level 3D electronic game.

"I am so proud of myself and my peers in the class as we will be the first patch of the youngest programmers in the Palestinian territories," he said. Enditem