Paul Calvert spoke with George Saadeh from the Shepherd's High School in Beit Sahour, about the challenges and trauma the children face and the importance of teaching them about peace.

George: Foreign students come. We have some visitors from Denmark and from the United States.

We had an art and religion summer camp, and a sports summer camp from the United States. They came and worked with our children during summer.

Paul: You are in a very biblical location. Is Christianity important to the school?

George: Of course we are a Christian school. We are Christian followers of the Greek Orthodox denomination. They help in educating our children. Christianity is very important for us to teach our children the real Christianity and how to understand it, and how to live it.

Christianity is not just religion it's a way of living; it's a spiritual way of living. It's a spiritual way to approach God and to have some ethics from our religion.

It's very important for our Christian families to sustain, because we are Christian here less than 1.5%. Palestine now we are around 47,000 people and we are decreasing because of immigrating outside, because of hard economic life. Occupation is affecting us and our families are struggling to exist in this country and in the Middle East all over, so it is very important to teach the proper Christian religion, and how to live with others and how to accept others' religion.

Paul: Is it one big family here?

George: I think so. We are trying to be one big family. All our staff consider the children our children. That is why we are saying our children.

Paul: You had a famous grand, grandfather. Tell us about that.

George: My first grand, grandfather was the first mayor of Bethlehem. This was when the Ottoman Turkish Empire declared Bethlehem as a city and announced city councils. He was the first mayor of Bethlehem in 1860.

I became the deputy mayor of Bethlehem between the years 2005 and 2012. So we are trying to service the city and we are trying to service our people in the way that we can.

Paul: What is it like at Christmas time in the school?

George: Christmas time is special for us. It's special in Bethlehem and in Beit Sahour where the Shepherds' Fields are.

We celebrate Christmas decorating, but what's the real meaning of Christmas? It's how to take care of each other and how to teach our children there are poor people. It's trying to not just pray, or celebrate, or have Santa Claus, it's also how to take care of the poor and how to come closer to God, this is the meaning of Christmas for us.