Damaged ambulance becomes Gaza "Dream Bus" serving displaced children

A war-damaged ambulance has been repurposed as a mobile space offering recreation and psychosocial support for displaced children in the Gaza Strip, bringing films, games and art to camps where everyday life has been severely disrupted.

Known as the Dream Bus, the vehicle travels between displacement camps, offering a small cinema, traditional games, sports, art and drawing activities.

At one of its stops, dozens of children gathered inside a makeshift tent to watch cartoons as an instructor stood close by.

"We had been waiting for the Dream Bus since the morning. It was a dream for us, and now it has come true. Since the war began, I've wished to go to a cinema and watch Masha and the Bear. You brought the cinema to us and made our dreams come true," said Zainab Abu Ziada, a displaced Palestinian child.

For many children living in the camps, opportunities to watch television or take part in recreational activities have become rare amid power shortages and repeated displacement.

"Before the war, we had a normal life. But over the past three years, we have been under tremendous pressure. This is the first time we've been able to watch television and cartoons with electricity available. We're very happy with these activities and films, and we hope there will be more sessions like this for us," said Rahaf Barda, a displaced Palestinian child.

Beyond movie screenings, the bus offers children opportunities to sing, play with a clown, have their faces painted and join group activities designed to encourage interaction and self-expression.

"The Dream Bus is a mobile bus carrying a range of activities and traveling between displacement camps. It offers children seven different activity areas, including cinema, traditional games, sports, art and drawing," said Neveen Abdel Hadi, director of the Mental Health Department at the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

The visits can reach hundreds of children at a time, giving them an opportunity to play together away from the pressures of displacement.

"Through the Dream Bus, we work to ease the suffering and psychological trauma caused by the war. These games and activities have a significant impact. We have around 300 children here today enjoying themselves because the bus gives them a safe space to practice their hobbies, whether playing or drawing," said Ghaleb Abu Khater, a social worker.

The need for such support remains extensive. More than 1 million children in Gaza urgently need child protection, mental health services and psychosocial support, UNICEF said in January.

Damaged ambulance becomes Gaza "Dream Bus" serving displaced children

Damaged ambulance becomes Gaza "Dream Bus" serving displaced children

Tens of thousands of visitors have been filling a centuries-old park in the Chinese capital since the 2026 Beijing Book Fair opened there on Sep. 17, drawn by affordable books and by imperial documents rarely put on public display.

Also known as the Temple of Earth Book Fair, the 11-day event brings together more than 400 publishers, cultural institutions, and bookstores, with over 500 booths set up across the park alongside a series of side events.

A major highlight of this year's fair is the expanded foreign-language section, which has grown from seven tents last year to ten, offering around 8,000 titles spanning children's books, literature, social sciences and art.

For some visitors, the discounted prices were a key draw.

"I picked up three sets of books. They are all series, including some well-known English picture books. Altogether, they cost less than 300 yuan (about 45 U.S. dollars)," one visitor said.

China’s reading culture has continued to grow in recent years. Data from the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication shows the adult reading rate rose from around 76 percent in 2012 to over 82 percent in 2025, with each person reading an average of 8 books a year.

To meet the growing appetite for books, publishers and bookstores have introduced vouchers and discounts to make them more accessible. The response has exceeded expectations, the organizers said.

"We have worked with two publishing groups to bring costs down by 10 to 20 percent and pass those savings on to readers. Visitor numbers on the first day were already at weekend levels, and our sales were three times those of the opening day last year," said Shi Jia, product manager from the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore.

Beyond the best-sellers, the fair features a section with more than 100,000 secondhand books, old volumes and rare editions, some dating back centuries. Classical Ming and Qing dynasty texts on China's 24 solar terms are among the offerings, while a special exhibition is displaying rarely shown imperial documents.

Zhao Jinbo, a history enthusiast, said the exhibition offered a rare chance to see original historical records up close.

"I am very interested in ancient books, so this was a great opportunity. I came especially to see things like a memorial to the throne from the Qing Dynasty and an imperial examination paper. They are all originals, so it was really something to see," he said.

After its Beijing run, the fair will travel to Baoding City in north China's Hebei Province and then to Tianjin Municipality.

Beijing Book Fair draws thousands of readers with discounted titles, rare volumes