[Note: Subaiah was kind enough to share her feelings about being an Ambassador for her school's Olive Branch Award. Solutions Not Sides is running a matched fundraising campaign so that 10 other schools can join Subaiah's next academic year. Every donation is doubled during the week 10th-17th April - so for everyone £1 you donate, we receive £2! You can find out more and donate at this link.]

"Solutions not Sides is a non-profit organisation whose main objective is to educate people of all ages about the conflict in Palestine/Israel. Their work has single-handedly given me a chance to become the best version of myself in such a short period.

A couple of weeks ago, my teacher introduced me to their work, and my class was able to attend a workshop where we talked to real-life people who were living in the face of this conflict. During this time, we listened to real-life stories about how their day-to-day routine went, and we were able to ask questions that were appropriately answered no matter how insane they seemed. The level of professionalism by the volunteers helped me realise deeper truths: there is violence and injustice in Palestine, of that there isn't any doubt; but it made me see that not all Israeli's supported this, and most people want to live in peace. There are things they have in common, not just tension or hate between them, as I have often seen on social media; this has helped me achieve a deeper understanding and new levels of empathy for both sides.

However, I felt this wasn't enough, which encouraged me to become involved in this topic more frequently as I began to research online and read books to teach myself more. But this wasn't where their support stopped; to be completely honest, it’s where it all began. Weeks later, we were then introduced to a more profound level of association. The Olive Branch Ambassador scheme was designed to empower young minds further to support this cause. Receiving this position only enabled my abilities, pushing me to be the best I can be. I have even been featured in an Olive Branch Newspaper and won school awards for all of my work, which simply started from attending one session.

Quite simply, this article is a letter of gratitude to both SNS and my teacher, Mrs. Savage, for giving me opportunities and putting me in positions I couldn't have pictured myself in."

Subaiah, 15 years old, Pleckgate High School