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Anera News

Summer 2019

Palestinian Women Can!

Connecting to Anera's Work Through Our Faith

By Nariman Othman

Nariman Othman

The women’s employment rate in Palestine is one of the lowest in the region. Anera’s Women Can program will help to change that by focusing on enabling economic independence for Palestinian women.

I am currently the project coordinator, leading the implementation of the Women Can program, funded by Islamic Relief USA. Women Can provides material assistance, training and mentoring to women launching small enterprises in the West Bank.

My dedication to this project comes from my heart. I conduct surveys of women we are considering for the program, set up trainings and mentoring, and organize the delivery of equipment and materials for the women’s initiatives. I also facilitate communications with the local village councils, the Ministry of Social Development and our local partners and draft reports on the program.

In this program we want to support women-headed households, especially women responsible for providing for orphans, disabled family members, larger families and families with very low monthly income.

WB_RE_Livelihoods.IRUSA.WomenCan.Azoon.Ablah&Son2_5.22.19

Ablah, a participant in the Women Can program, on her land with her son.

I begin by asking potential candidates about what is going on in their lives and what they want to accomplish. Each woman has her own project appropriate to her circumstances and what she can do. I am fortunate to have a background in sociology and psychology which is useful in these conversations.

In this pilot version of the program we will work with 100 women in the Nablus and Qalqilya areas, empowering them to start or develop their own enterprises.

Over the course of four days, the trainings cover project planning, marketing and selling. We customize the curriculum to match each group’s education level.

During our visits we see a lot of women with different cultural beliefs. Although I’m a Palestinian woman, it was a surprise for me. Each village is different. Education levels vary from village to village and every village has distinct cultural attitudes and ideas about society.

Each woman’s project is different. They range from bakeries and sweets shops to sheep farming. Anera will buy the equipment necessary for each enterprise. We are now at the phase where we are beginning to deliver equipment and supplies to the first group of participants.

There are a lot of field visits that inspire me as a woman. Each woman has her own story that you could write a book about.

I have met women while working on this program who will stick in my mind and my heart forever.

It is a privilege to help them. They really need it. And they are the lucky ones! There are so many women who need similar assistance. Inshallah this project will succeed and we can expand it to include more women in other marginalized areas.

Some of the enterprises will take time to earn income, for instance the sheep and goats. The bakeries and patisseries, on the other hand, will see income immediately. Either way each woman will have her own project that will support her family without the need of help from somebody else.

It’s not just about the economic support. It is about the psychological support. I wish I had had somebody to listen to me and to provide encouragement when I found myself alone with children to care for. Someone to support me psychologically. Both kinds of support are really important for human beings to succeed.

As the saying goes, we don’t want to give them fish, we want to teach them how to fish. This is the aim of the project and why it will be sustainable long after we are no longer working with the women.

Read Nariman’s full blog post here.

Connecting to Anera's Work Through Our Faith

Connecting to Anera's Work Though Our Faith

by Steve Buck, retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and longtime member of River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation

My faith community, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, has been a partner of Anera’s for nearly 20 years. River Road’s work with issues related to Palestine began in the early nineties when Jack Edmondson, former staff member in CARE’s Jerusalem office, founded a Middle East Task Force within the congregation. This group has worked to bring in experts to talk about issues related to justice and peace in the Middle East and garnered support for organizations like Anera working on the ground.

While our partnership with Anera has taken different forms throughout the years, River Road’s annual support for the organization has remained steadfast. For many years we supported Anera by proposing an annual contribution through River Road’s Social Justice Council. In addition to that, the congregation hosted annual alternative holiday gift markets, where members would purchase “gifts” for loved ones comprised of donations to nonprofits like Anera.

Now, in lieu of collecting one large pot of money throughout the year to then be distributed among task forces, our congregation chooses one organization per month to be lifted up for special attention, extending one entire Sunday morning’s offering to a worthy organization.

Although Anera as an organization is not religiously affiliated, its work helps us to further our mission as Unitarian Universalists. Through our faith, we are called to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person and to work for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Anera’s work with people who are too often forgotten affirms and advances this call.

In light of the damage done by the almost complete elimination of U.S. government funding for Palestinian refugees, supporting Anera’s work is even more of an imperative today.

River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Our Latest Success Stories from Palestine and Lebanon

A Joyful Harvest in Amena’s Gaza Greenhouse

It’s springtime in Gaza and the flowers are in bloom. Inside Anera-built greenhouses, tomatoes are ripening. Amena, 40, is the owner of one of these greenhouses and lives in a modest tent by the seashore with her mother. “I enjoy the fresh breeze,” Amena says.

Amena is the sole provider for her mother and a number of other family members. When she was young, she learned how to farm from her father. “I like to begin my day early inside the greenhouse. My life revolves around the progress of my plants. It’s not just a source of income for me, it’s my passion. It’s exciting!”

Because of her convenient sea-side location, Amena’s greenhouse attracts many traders coming to buy her produce. During a recent harvest, Amena was able to donate 300 kilos worth of tomatoes to her neighbors.

Anera Inaugurated a New Preschool in Qibya

With generous support from the Tarazi family, Anera completed the construction of a new preschool in Qibya in Ramallah Governorate. The custom-designed facility includes a number of classrooms and can provide 100 children with preschool education each year. The public kindergarten will be owned and maintained by the village council and the Ministry of Education, ensuring a sustainable operating model that bolsters the public education system in Palestine.

A ceremony inaugurating the Antoine Tarazi Kindergarten in Qibya took place on Thursday, April 4, 2019. Members of the Tarazi family (pictured) attended the event along with Anera staff, the Qibya village council, the Minister of Education, and the governor of Ramallah.

Learning Job Skills for Sustainable Futures in Lebanon

Omar is a student in Anera’s plumbing, solar and heating course. The 20-year-old Syrian fled his hometown with his family and now resides in Tripoli. On why he chose to take the course, Omar says, “I have always loved things related to solar energy. Ever since I came to Lebanon, I have been struggling to find something to study and excel at. Now, I feel proud to be achieving my dream.”

Omar is optimistic about his future. “This course has opened many doors for me. Zmerly & Co. just hired me to be part of their solar team!” Omar hopes to use the skills he has learned to contribute to his adopted and native countries.

“Who knows, maybe what I learned here will impact the people in my country one day.” The course is crucial to preparing young people in Lebanon for the global rise of green economies and green jobs.