"Participating in this project has shaped my understanding of politics"
This month, MIFTAH interviews Ruba Hilal from Beit Sahour who participated in the "Empowerment of Palestinian Youth Leadership" project, on the impact the project had on her life. The project, funded by the Norwegian Representative Office and part of MIFTAH's Good Governance and Democracy Program, aims to empower youths in participating in the political decision making process in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
What line of work are you in?
Even though I graduated with a major in Mathematics from Bethlehem University, I decided to work in the political field. I work with the Palestinian Democratic Union belonging to the Fida Party for its international relations department. I have been there for the last month and a half. I also help out with their youth affairs and have been directly linked to the party since 2006. I have participated in more than one activity with them and am very active in the Independence Youth Union. I was raised on the party's principles through my family. My parents were both politically active so my brothers and sisters and I were raised on democracy and logical thinking.
How did you become involved in the Youth Leadership project in MIFTAH?
I have been part of MIFTAH's project since its inception back in 2008. The project coordinator approached the administrative officials in political parties and asked them to nominate names of young (male and female) leaders for the project. My name was one. I was then interviewed by MIFTAH and was chosen as a participant after I had met certain criteria.
Three years later, we are still the same group, which I think is good since we are all from different political parties. This is evidence of our ability to get along with each other even though the coordinators have changed. Credit for this must be given to MIFTAH, for promoting such wonderful sustainability for this project.
How has your participation in this project helped you shape your perspectives, if any?
No doubt, my participation changed me for the better. The workshops provided me with a lot of knowledge about the political programs of parties within the PLO and other organizations and the role of these parties. It brought up many questions I had about youth and their absence in decision making positions. It also gave me a chance to communicate with different parties and to get to know their methodology and philosophies.
What is your evaluation of the project three years later and how extensive was the interaction between the participants?
This is a very unique project and I expect everyone who participated has benefited from it. This is clear from how committed the group has been and how much they participate in the activities, especially since in this phase we have begun to actively participate in the preparation and chairing of the meetings themselves. We are no longer only recipients of the information. This is extremely important because we have now become a real part of the project.
How much has the project impacted your overall knowledge of politics given that you work in this field?
It has been very beneficial since the training came in tandem with my work in the party. I needed to apply everything in theory to benefit the most from the knowledge I acquired, which turned out to be very helpful. It gave me the chance to practice what I learned. Also, our meetings with political personalities helped me to understand their positions on certain issues more.
Do you think the activities, meetings and training you received were enough to help develop sound young political leaders?
The activities of the project were wonderful but there needs to be more practical application. More importantly, this application should be through working in the political field or through group work participation to organize a political meeting for example. We could prepare and organize and send out the invitations, which would definitely help us come out with new ideas and initiatives for how young people can get their message across.
How have your perceptions of political issues changed after participating in the project?
The change is very clear, especially in terms of overall knowledge and political communication with the various parties. Furthermore, the meetings and discussions boosted my Arabic skills. Before the project, I was weak in expressing myself and getting my thoughts across in Arabic. Throughout the course of the project, I was able to overcome this weakness with the help of the group. Even they noticed the difference. Also, the discussions we had amongst ourselves were very informative for me. While I rejected many of the ideas some of my colleagues put forth, I was surprised by so many others just because I did not think of them myself.
Do you feel as if your involvement with MIFTAH has opened new doors for you?
I know it has. Recently, I was appointed as head of the preparatory committee in the Independence Youth Union for its general conference. Soon, I will be following up on all of the West Bank affairs regarding the party's activities including elections and popular activities.
What are the obstacles facing youth today in participating in the decision making process? Has MIFTAH's project better equipped them for these obstacles nevertheless?
There are young adults who exert efforts to improve and empower themselves and who have an enormous amount of energy and ideas. For these youths, projects like MIFTAH's definitely help them to be more qualified to participate in the decision making process. Unfortunately however, the problem facing youths today is that they are marginalized and ostracized by the political parties, which have years-long experience which they are not willing to hand down to the youth generation, a generation which is inevitably going to take the reigns of power after them. Sadly, there is neglect youth potentials in Palestine and no real investment in their ideas and energy. This means our youths have to exert double the efforts to find their way in this world.
How would you assess MIFTAH among other NGOs that target the youth sector after your participation in the project?
MIFTAH's project was very unique because it showed an active interest in the role of youth and in their empowerment unlike other organizations that are only concerned with holding a workshop or two. It is the duty of such NGOs to develop and promote political thought and understanding among youths because the absence of these factors has extremely negative ramifications.
My impression of the project was very positive. The young adults with me were also positively impacted, something which was clear from their heightened political awareness, which is important, whether they join the political world or not. They all attended the workshops and meetings and participated actively in the discussions. Still, I hope one day that our youth will overcome their own party interests and put the interests of their generation in general as a priority instead.
Would you encourage similar projects? And would you participate in the future?
Without a doubt. I think that if MIFTAH continues working on this project and with this youth group, we could reach our goal of creating a role for youths in political decision making. This is the common objective we are all seeking.
'Cake and Vanilla': One story of success
Date posted: May 05, 2022
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – In the village of “Jadeera” northwest of Jerusalem, Sally Suleiman and a group of friends chose an old abandoned building as a launching point for their project “Cake and Vanilla”. Since then, they have consistently increased the sale of their date and nut cookies, first in their village and then later, in areas around and beyond Ramallah and even inside the Green Line. The women now create a quality, well-marketed product after honing their online marketing skills, creating and running their own website and being part of other similar websites to display their baked goods.
MIFTAH: Financial and technical support
Sally and her project partners admit that their success would never have been possible if it were not for MIFTAH’s support, providing them with the necessary equipment and appliances and working to develop their financial administration and marketing skills.
“MIFTAH was a huge support,” Sally says. “It gave us material and technical support, which motivated us to push forward and reach as many people as possible. Today, ‘Cake and Vanilla’ is a household name, not just in Jadeera but in areas in and around Ramallah and all over Palestine.”
Challenges and Obstacles
Sally mostly cites marketing challenges due to competition and gaps in the market in places they have difficulty accessing. She also points to the interminable problem of funding the website. MIFTAH, she says, helped them with ways to tackle this issue through providing them with training in online marketing, website management and funding with the goal of reaching a broader public.
Socio-economic impacts
Sally maintains that the project has tangibly improved their social and economic statuses and has allowed them to become more acquainted with society. She also says it boosted their confidence and their ability to depend on themselves and that their newfound economic empowerment had a positive impact for them within their own households and communities.
Community development project
MIFTAH project coordinator for community development and income-generating projects, Hanan Said, said these interventions with young female university graduates are part of MIFTAH’s efforts to empower women and integrate them in the labor market. The projects also give them the opportunity for financial independence and for developing their personal and professional skills. This, Said maintains, will allow them to carry out an effective role by reflecting the positive impact of women’s economic participation, in addition to elevating women’s statuses in their communities.
The tale of three female university students and their construction materials project
Date posted: February 09, 2022
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – Sarah, Rimah and Aya are three young women from the villages of Beit Iksa and Beit Dukko, northwest of Jerusalem, who ventured into an innovated project like no Palestinian women before them.
The first step on their road to success was MIFTAH, which has and continues to work towards supporting Palestinian women in the West Bank and in the Jerusalem district in particular, by providing small income-generating projects.
Sarah and Rimah are still university students while their colleague, Aya, is already graduated and works full-time with the project. The women tapped into their local communities’ needs, seeing how construction projects were mushrooming in their area. This, they realized, meant they could easily obtain construction materials if they had the means, including jacks and winches.
For Sarah Liqyaniyeh from Beit Ikas, who graduated with a degree in design and décor, their project to rent out construction materials and equipment was a way of fulfilling the needs of their communities. “No other woman or girl has ever thought up this idea before,” she says. “The project entails renting out construction supplies and equipment – jacks and iron elbows and other materials. This is a project that girls and women are probably not used to hearing about, whether in our villages or in other areas. Projects for women almost always revolve around food or embroidery. My colleagues and I wanted to do something different, something only for us, which would allow us to depend on ourselves. So we chose a project that no one has ever done before.”
She continues, “I studied and worked in design and décor and I have also worked in the field at construction sites. During discussions and conversations with my family and others in my village, I heard them talking about buying construction equipment and renting it from outside the village. This is when I had the idea for our project. I said to myself:
Why shouldn’t I be doing this? It’s a sure thing.” So, I pitched the idea to my two colleagues and they were both enthusiastic about it and thought it was a great idea. Our families were also supportive and even our local communities, which helped us find an easy and quick way to obtain the necessary construction equipment and materials. We have reaped profitable financial returns too, and hope one day we will be able to expand. Hopefully, MIFTAH will continue to support us; after all, it was the one that put us on this path.”
Supporting vital projects such as this one for Palestinian women in several West Bank districts has been a MIFTAH intervention for years. It is part of its “Women’s Empowerment” project, which supports small-income generating projects in cooperation with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
MIFTAH project manager, Hanan Said maintains: “The success story this project was able to achieve, whether in terms of impacting or changing the realities of over 400 Palestinian women and their families in rural areas, cities, or marginalized areas, is that these projects empowered and improved the social and economic lives of women. MIFTAH’s interventions have succeeded in reaching women, particularly the marginalized, in over 70 locations in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, the Ramallah/Al Bireh and the Jerusalem districts,” she says. Said continues that MIFTAH works on an almost annual basis, in cooperation with the Arab Fund, to reach new groups of women in various areas and offer them the necessary support to contribute to their economic participation in Palestinian society, with a focus on Jerusalem and its suburbs.
Through its support for women, MIFTAH seeks to increase opportunities for young women especially, to enable them to participate in the labor market and assume an active and influential role in creating positive patterns of economic participation for women, ultimately elevating their status in their respective communities. MIFTAH takes into consideration the needs of marginalized women by economically empowering underprivileged women through small grants.
