Opportunities to transform lives in the Holy Land
You can turn hope into action
The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel, VIII Bishop of Olympia (Res.), Assisting Bishop, Southeast Florida, Former AFEDJ Board Chair
Give a Christian student the gift of a first-rate education at Saviour’s School
When you support a child’s tuition, you give a family hope for a brighter future
ZARQA, JORDAN: There are only 10,000 Christians in Jordan’s second-largest city, which has grown to 750,000 people due in part to the arrival of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Christian families face prejudice and indignities in Zarqa. And most Christian children attend public schools, which average 60 students per classroom – 4-5 students at each desk.
Only a handful of Christian families can send their children to a school like Saviour’s School. Christian families who struggle in Zarqa’s weak economy often can’t afford the $2,800 tuition for each child. Your support would transform the lives of children and their families.
Help to heal a traumatized child in Gaza
Political turmoil, violence and appalling living conditions create an urgent need for children’s psychosocial support
GAZA CITY: The people of Gaza suffer from conditions that we would call unlivable – no clean drinking water, raw sewage polluting the water and land, youth unemployment at 60 percent and for most families, just two hours of electricity every day. A 2019 report from the Norwegian Refugee Council revealed that 81 percent of children in Gaza struggle academically due to conflict-related stress and 68 percent of schoolchildren in areas close to the perimeter fence have psychosocial distress. Sadly, 54 percent said they had no hope for a brighter future.
Your donation of $500 provides ongoing psychosocial therapy for a child like this young girl in Gaza and helps her overcome the trauma of living in this war-torn region.
Support Palestinian mothers to be therapists and advocates for their children with disabilities
Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre’s Mother Empowerment Program is a lifeline for Palestinian families of children with disabilities
EAST JERUSALEM: The Mother Empowerment Program trains parents in therapeutic techniques to continue with their children at home. Parents also receive individual and group counseling to help them become advocates for their children and manage the isolation and prejudice they often encounter in their communities because of the stigma of having a child with a disability.
The two- to three-week program allows mothers who face onerous travel restrictions to come together with other mothers for training, education, counseling and community-building. Your donation of $5,000 covers all costs, including travel, accommodations, food, and clinical services and treatment for one family’s residential session.
Provide vocational training for Syrian refugees at Theodor Schneller School
Your support gives displaced young people the skills they need to obtain a job and create a stable life
MARKA, JORDAN: Few countries in the world have opened their doors to welcome refugees as Jordan has. First Palestinians, then Iraqis, and most recently hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing civil war. The Theodor Schneller School offers young refugees high-quality vocational training in culinary arts, hospitality, electric and hybrid auto repair, cosmetology, woodworking, and metal fabrication. These young men and women gain the experience and skills to obtain stable, good-paying jobs in Jordan’s fragile economy.
Your donation of $2,000 provides a deserving refugee a vocational training scholarship that leads to certification and a job.
Give babies the best start by supporting obstetrical nursing care in the West Bank
Three hundred babies are born each month at St. Luke’s Hospital in the West Bank. Your support of nurses’ salaries ensures they receive expert, loving care
NABLUS, WEST BANK: It’s not uncommon for a first-time mother entering St. Luke’s Hospital to have spent time on the maternity ward already: she was likely born there. The obstetrical nursing staff at St. Luke’s takes pride in the personal and professional care they offer to babies and their mothers They often see three generations return for this most important of family milestones. The continuity of the nursing staff at St. Luke’s is unusual in a West Bank hospital, with some nurses celebrating more than 30 years on staff. “Women return here because they know they will be treated with respect and excellent medical care,” says Fatila, a 27-year veteran of the 120-year-old hospital founded by Anglican missionaries.
Giving the hundreds of babies born at St. Luke’s each month the best possible start to life is the top priority of the nursing staff. As a charitable hospital, where the mission is to care for all without regard to their religion, ethnicity or ability to pay, the cohesive and dedicated nursing staff is central to its ministry. Your donation of $1,500 covers one month of salary and benefits for a skilled and caring professional.
Transform the future of a West Bank family by supporting ETVTC’s adult culinary arts program
Job training for adults offers hope for economic security
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK: While the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center in Ramallah may be best known for its exceptional two-year programs in hospitality and information technology for juniors and seniors in high school, a year-long culinary arts training program for adults meets a growing and crucial need in the community. With unemployment in the West Bank hovering just over 40 percent and the hospitality sector experiencing growth, the program for adults is a way to learn culinary arts theory and practice and to gain valuable career knowledge and professional skills.
Whether it helps an out-of-work engineer who needs an income for his family or a woman who hopes to start a home cooking business, your gift of $1,500 supports one adult student in the ten-month training program. Your gift will transform a family’s future.