West Bank: School Bags for Children in Need

"HCI contribution has improved the lives of many families living in despair and gave hope to many hopeless children. Just watch the smile of every child who benefited from HCI school bags project you can then see the great impact the project had on those children" commented Sarah Barakat, President of HCI local partner in the West Bank, Vocational Rehabilitation Workshops Society for Girls (VRWSG).

Among many stories of need and despair that was revealed to the VRWSG team, the story of Jihad, an 11 year old orphan from Hebron, was the most touching. Jihad almost fell into tears while holding his new schoolbag, not believing that he will go to school with a new schoolbag this year. He came to the VRWSG center where some of the school bags were distributed. Upon receiving his bag, he thanked one of the volunteers by saying "Every year, I either use an old one and fear that my books will fall off, or I wait, as some of the neighbors might pass me another one that their child used to have, and I use it hoping that it wont break soon", Jihad was smiling and would not let go of his bags. All the volunteers at the center were very touched, seeing him that happy.

The distribution of the school bags, stationary and school supplies this year was a natural response to the needs of the families included in an assessment carried by the VRWSG in the towns of Hebron and Bethlehem, to identify projects that can provide instant support to poor families.

The holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the school year together in the same month were one of too many expenses on families barely making a living. By offering a schools bag, stationary and school supplies, around thousand family were able to make sure that this month would end smoothly, without having to make a hard decision, like taking a child out of school to cut expenses (most probably a female child). A women from Batir village shouted out laud while receiving the school bags: "I did not know where to get the money to buy school supplies for my daughters. Please make sure to pass my gratitude to HCI". The VRWSG team was happy to hear such comments; still, they knew that together with the HCI, a long road is still waiting ahead, especially while working in Palestine, were the Israeli occupation constitutes the main obstacle in reaching people in need.

The villages that received the school bags could have simply waited forever till the school bags arrive if the volunteer's convoy was not so determined to carry on. "We don't believe in failure. We believe in challenging the obstacles we face in order to succeed", commented Mariam, a VRWSG team member. Her comment summarizes the group of women determination to overcome many of the challenges in working in volatile area such as the West Bank. "When we were delivering the school supplies to AL Woljeh village, we were asked by the Israeli soldiers to step down from the car and we were interrogated about the bags, and we were requested to open each and every single one of them, as they were not exactly thrilled with the idea of helping Palestinian students. After a brief argument, and after ten bags were opened and thrown on to the ground, we were released, and were able to deliver the bags," Mariam explained. "Another check point in Hebron stopped the team of the Union of Palestinian Women Committee for three hours without a reason. They were forced to stand up under the sun for about three hours before releasing them," she concluded.

As Palestinian students go to school, and as families celebrate Ramadan and look forward for the Eid, not having to worry about some of the school expenses, and not having to pull one of the children out of the school, HCI is planning for additional projects to improve the lives of these families, especially the life of their children. This is what HCI does: help alleviate human suffering through projects that foster self-reliance, self-directness and preserves human dignity.