There is a word missing in the expression "Israel, land of milk and honey", and that word is sunlight. Along with the many blessings of sunshine comes the threat of a stealthy enemy - skin cancer. This is a problem shared with Australia, and in the Arava we are trying to raise awareness, as was done with the highly successful "Slip-Slop-Slap" campaign Down Under.

Over the past 30 years, the incidence of melanoma (malignant skin cancer) in Israel has increased by a factor of 5-6, and most cases diagnosed are related to solar radiation. In order to raise awareness to the damage done by solar radiation, or in other words to prevent sunburn, Partnership 2000 is funding the "Sun Smart" project this year. The project is operating at the Shittim Elementary School, in cooperation with the Education Department and the school administration. Activities, lectures and prize-bearing competitions are held for students, which teach them about the subject, and encourage them to modify their behavior accordingly.

The project is based upon the children actually experiencing what is being taught, rather than simply listening to teachers in the classroom. Following are some of different activities:

• The 1st and 2nd graders were taught the Sun Smart rules: look for shade, wear a hat, wear sunglasses, dress appropriately, go outside only during safe hours, use sunscreen and drink lots of water (the first letters of these rules in Hebrew spell out Sun Smart). The pupils then put these rules into practice through games and creative activities, such as dressing up a doll with the appropriate clothes and accessories to make it "Sun Smart", and creation of a shaded area for it with drawing and gluing.
•  In the 3rd through 5th grades we talked about the rules with the pupils and played the game "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", using information relevant to the project. The 6th graders wrote a script for a short video film on the Sun Smart project, which will be turned into a video clip.

The children are enjoying the various activities, and we have received feedback from parents who say that their children are explaining the importance of wearing hats and using sunscreen to them! They also report that the children are taking the initiative in playing outside only in the afternoon, not during the dangerous midday hours. Teachers have also expressed satisfaction with the program and its message.

Note: This project was initiated by Anat Kelem, a resident of Moshav Faran, and was presented in response to the Partnership 2000 invitation to the public in July 2006 to submit projects for funding from the 2007 P2K budget.