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The Olive Press

Connecting to My Grandparents’ Legacy Through Qualified Charitable Distributions

Nov 22, 2021

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Both of my maternal grandparents spent their formative years in Lebanon before emigrating to the United States, where they eventually met. My grandmother, Melia Kiame, and her older sister Emily attended a boarding school in Beirut run by German Lutherans. They also spent time in Schweir (Dour El Chouier) with their grandfather, who helped farmers…

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A Legacy of Supporting Education for the Marginalized

Oct 18, 2021

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I have spent most of my adult life in Minnesota and Alaska teaching English as a second language (ESL). As an ESL teacher, I was always curious about the places my students were from, and had a strong desire to explore them on my own. My first teaching experience abroad was at the University of…

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Dr. Vicken Kalbian: a Steadfast Friend to Anera and to Palestinians

by Anera

Sep 7, 2021

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Anera is mourning the death of Dr. Vicken Kalbian, who died on Friday, September 2, 2021, at the age of 96. His influence and leadership has been seminal to Anera for over four decades. Long a pillar of Jerusalem’s medical community and one of its most celebrated and accomplished physicians, Vicken maintained his commitment to…

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From Volunteering to Donating, There are Many Ways to Support Opportunity for Palestinians

Aug 26, 2021

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In the late 1970s I spent two and a half years volunteering in Palestine, drawing on my professional background in agricultural pest control to help support farm and garden projects. I had worked on a farm growing up and later studied biology and earned a master’s degree in entomology so I was able to make…

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Remembering Two Special Anera Supporters

by Anera

Jul 12, 2021

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We are sad to report that, in May, Anera lost two valued members of our community: Joseph Asfour and Michael Hudson.

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Seeing Anera in Action

Jun 28, 2021

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By Anera Board Member Katherine Wilkens From June 5th to 13th I joined Anera CEO Sean Carroll and Board Chair Joe Saba on a trip to visit Anera staff and programs in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak. Originally planned for May, our trip was delayed first…

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Together, We Can Sustain Each Other

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During the month of Ramadan Keffiyeh Masks are generously donating 20% of their revenue to Anera and the communities where we work. We both live in Washington DC. Bshara grew up outside of Bethlehem in Palestine, on his family’s educational farm, called Tent of Nations. He came to the U.S. in 2011 to pursue his…

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Supporting and Building Anera’s Medical Aid Program

Mar 26, 2021

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I’ve been affiliated with Anera for 25 years now, as a donor and a board member. Because I’m a physician, I started working right away on the health committee headed up by the esteemed Dr. Vicken Kalbian, who has supported Anera from its earliest years. At the time that I first got involved, there was…

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I Feel Proud to be Supporting Anera

Mar 25, 2021

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I grew up in the country, outside of New York City. It was the sort of place where there were a lot more cows than people. My older sister even went to a one-room schoolhouse.  It was kind of an isolated childhood but I learned a lot about how to live in the woods. I…

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My Mother is the First Leader I Met

by Anera

Mar 18, 2021

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Celebrating women on the front lines on Mother’s Day in the Arab world Most countries in the Arab world celebrate Mother’s Day on March 21. Acknowledging the vital place of women in society is more important than ever this year. Women are the backbone of society — they are caregivers, educators, peacemakers and front-line workers…

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