Background
The essential role education played in the development of backward societies, are much higher than the anticipated economic calculations. Education plays a substantial role in the formation of a higher level of human capital in the society. Education institutions lay the groundwork for the cognitive revolution of knowledge and sophisticated abilities namely, higher levels of human capital which are the main backbone for progress in this century.
Arroub camp is a Palestinian refugee camp situated in the southern West Bank in Hebron district, 15 km south of Bethlehem. The camp was established in 1949 to offer refuge to Palestinians who were forced to leave their home villages after the establishment of the state of "Israel". At present, 2136 families, a total of 13263 people, live on the camp’s 241 Dunum (0.24 square kilometers). The average family comprises seven members.
Job opportunities are scarce; recent statistics of Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2016) reflects the highest percentage of poverty and the difficult socio-economic conditions in the refugee camps, where 47.5% of the refugee families under risk of poverty, a result of the high unemployment; high fertility rate; the large family size; and the high dependency rate after the UNRWA decision to cut aid to Palestinian refugees. The protests against this injustice decision are still going-on every day since it started one year ago.
The camp population is extremely young on average, with 62 percent belonging to the 0 to 24 years age bracket. Despite these conditions, education is highly valued among Palestinian refugees as it provides them with full awareness of the Nakba and a more powerful enemy, perceived as both unjust and oppressive; that retained in their collective memory. Those refugees consider education as their only weapon by which they seek to develop their potentials, interact with others to advocate their just cause and defend it on international arena.
Project goals:
The project aims to achieve the following goals:
1. The provision of basic educational needs to undergraduate Palestinian refugee students.
2. To relief the students of Palestinian refugee camps in their difficult circumstances.
3. Achieve a high level of social solidarity and responsibility in the Palestinian society.
Project outputs:
1. Strengthen the steadfastness of Palestinian refugee camps.
2. Empowerment of Palestinian refugee students in their difficult circumstances, and their different basic requirements.
Project Details:
Title: Educational Project for Genius Students at Arroub Refugee Camp.
Donor: HRS - Humanitarian Relief Society.
Organization: HRS - Humanitarian Relief Society.
Authority: Registered Non-Government Organization in Palestine.
Address: Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine.
Contact person: Professor Bassam Banat, president, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
, 00972 599 678 306.
Beneficiaries: Undergraduate genius students at Arroub Refugee Camp, Hebron, Palestine.
Number of Beneficiaries: 8 genius students at Arroub Refugee Camp, Hebron, Palestine.
Date of the project: September 2017 to present.
Donor: Local and International community.
Project cases
Hajar Banat
Our sister Hajar is a genius female student, who achieves an average of 98.8% in the secondary school for the academic year 2012; she ranked the second in the whole Palestine in the scientific stream.
Our sister Hajar has finished her fifth academic year in the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Quds University. This genius student has achieved excellent scores (85.5%), through the generous support of our brothers and sisters, which mad a difference in her vision to herself, her life, her family and her refugee community. Your generous support will enable this genius student to be the first female Physician in her refugee camp.
Hajar is a very clever student, her academic achievements and records speak for themselves and her academic potentials are highly distinctive. She is living in a very poor family in Arroub Refugee Camp. Her family has been living in Ajjur village, and they have been uprooted from their own village in the year 1948. Her family classified as a hardship case in the UNRWA files, since both of her father Hasan and her graduate brother Mohammed is unemployed. The statistics of Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2014) reflects the highest percentage of poverty and the difficult socio-economic conditions in Palestine in general and in the refugee camps in particular, where 47.5% of the refugee families under risk of poverty, a result of the high unemployment; high fertility rate; the large family size; and the high dependency rate. Besides, her mother sold all of her jewelry to let his son Mohammed finished his undergraduate studies at The Polytechnic University of Palatine to study Engineering of Communications, while the family has a disabled son.
This genius student is willing to continue her study in the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Quds University, in her last year, and to pay her previous debts (JD 3795), that should be paid as soon as possible, if not she will be out of the University, taken into consideration the financial crisis Al-Quds has. In this term our sister Hajar said: "for the sake of Allah don't let me down, I am in the mid of way, I want to serve my needy people and Palestinian issue".
Sara Adawi
Our sister Sara has achieved an average of 95.7% in her secondary school 2016, she has finished her first academic year in the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Quds University. This genius student has achieved excellent scores (84%), through the support of our brothers and sisters, which mad a difference in her vision to herself, her life, her family and her refugee community. In this point, she said” my appreciation as I mentioned before is in actions not in words and this is another precious lesson I came across. This is how the support of our brothers and sisters has shaped my life, may Allah reward you the Jana, Ameen”.
Sara possesses all the qualities to become an excellent physician. She is living in a very poor family in Arroub Refugee Camp. Her family has been living in Zakaria village, and has been uprooted from their own village in the year 1948. Her family consists of 9 persons, and classified as a poverty family in the UNRWA files, since her father is a simple employee with a very limited salary.
Your generous support will enable this genius student to continue her education to serve her Palestinian people as a Physician, taken into consideration that her fall 2017 semester tuition is JD 3500, in addition to her previous debts (JD 1587).
This needy student said in terms of our brothers' sisters' support. "The support of my brothers and sisters was the path that led me to the light; it changed everything, my ambitions, perspectives, and personality. This support basically is the main reason for what I am going to be, it gives me the hope and the inspiration to fight for what I dreamed about, and what I wanted to achieve, may Allah reward them the Jana, Ameen”.
The two medicine students Maalem and Amal Hajajreh
Maalem and Amal Hajajreh Dua is two intelligent, mature, academically, responsible and highly motivated Palestinian refugee students. They had finished their fourth and third respectively, in the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Quds University with very good averages. Their eagerness to improve themselves in all aspects of life is evident to all in the camp and Al-Quds University. The two sisters are living in a very large poor family (10 members) in Arroub Refugee Camp in the UNRAW very limited support. Their father is a simple worker, with a very limited salary. The two sisters are praying day and nights in order to achieve their goals as a Muslem human being, to have a very simple right of their “Education” through your generous support to obtained their Bachelor degree in Medicine and to be active members in the Palestinian community, taken into consideration that their semester tuition is JD 2500 each, in addition to Maalem previous debts (JD 1365).
The issue in the two sisters' case is not only to assist very gifted and extremely determined young women to realize their dream to become a physician. Neither is it to help a poor family to become self-sufficient, or to enable one of its members to pay for a decent education for the other children. The real issue here is to support the whole community of Arroub refugee camp, and especially its women and children, who are in dire need to be served by female physician.
Assisting the two sisters to realize their dream will earn you the prayers of every patient they will treat in the future. Please, do your utmost to empower them to achieve their dream. “inna lanudeeAAu ajra man ahsana AAamala” (We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds).
The four young students (Reem, Mohammed, Ibrahim, and Ahmed)
The four young genius students would have succumbed to the seemingly hopeless situation and ceased to make an effort. They recognized that their only opportunity to better their life was to study diligently. From first grade on, they were among the top ten students in the camp every year.
These four young genius refugee students knew that their family would not be able to pay for their education from their fathers' small salary. But they did not want to give up after their brilliant school career and applied to Al-Quds University, hoping that Allah would answer their prayers and they would somehow be able to continue their education. Aspiring to become a physician, they were overjoyed but at the same time worried when the university accepted their application. Would Allah help them to obtain a scholarship?
The generous support of the local and international communities had made a difference and enabled them achieving their dream, as they swear to keep going in the same steps and achievement till their graduation Inshaa Allah. In this regard, Reem said that "I have to say to every donor: my secondary achievement is the best thing that happened to me in my life, it was and is the new hope, the new life and the new future that I hope to have, it gives me the hope that I can continue this life, and I can be something in the future, I can be somebody who everybody will be proud of, somebody who can make better changes for himself, his family, his society and the whole world. Please do not let me down and help me in achieving this dream". May Allah reward you the Jana, Ameen.
Acknowledgment:
Upon the completion of this educational project and on behalf of the Palestinian students and the HRS board members I would like to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to the local and international community for their generous support for our genius students.
We have reached this educational project not by our efforts alone, but also through their kindness and support, may Allah bless you and reward you the Jana, Ameen. “inna lanudeeAAu ajra man ahsana AAamala” (We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds). Sadaga Allah Al Atheem.
With my deepest salaamas and duas,
Professor Bassam Banat.
President
