MIFTAH completes Phase Seven of its project 'Development of local communities through small income-generating projects'
By MIFTAH
June 30, 2022

Ramallah – 23/6/2022 – MIFTAH recently capped off Phase Seven of its project, “Development of local communities through small income-generating projects”, which was launched at the beginning of 2021. Throughout this project, 10 grants were given to 40 women in the Jerusalem district, with funding from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

MIFTAH completed the executive phase of the project in 2021-2022 by holding a capacity-building workshop for 48 grant beneficiaries. The training focused on developing self-assertion skills for the women, with the objective of empowering them and enhancing their role in the management of income-generating production projects, so they reflect positive patterns for women entrepreneurs in their communities. The project takes into consideration the needs of marginalized women categorized as vulnerable in their communities, by economically empowering them.

Beneficiary viewpoints

The beneficiaries stressed on the importance of continuing support and funding for their projects and expanding the network of beneficiaries through assessment of their achieved economic and social feasibility and the social, economic and psychological impacts of these projects on the women’s lives.

One beneficiary, Iftikhar Al Sheikh from Beit Sourik, northwest of Jerusalem, said the embroidery project she runs with four other women, economically empowered them and provided a source of income for their families in spite of the marketing challenges and obstacles they faced. She continued that this necessitated ongoing support so their projects could expand and achieve the best possible benefits.

Another beneficiary, Faeda Halabia from Silwan, south of the Old City of Jerusalem, who runs a food-manufacturing project with four other beneficiaries, expressed similar sentiments. She added that supporting such projects in Jerusalem had its own exclusivity, citing the challenges they face due to the Israeli occupation such as taxes on small projects and other more recent challenges from the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Halabia also said she hoped her project would continue to receive support so she and her colleagues could benefit from the income generated from it. She added that she and her colleagues are very interested in more MIFTAH training so they could further develop their project.

In her conclusion of the most important achievements of MIFTAH’s workshop and its ramifications on beneficiaries, trainer Wala’ Samara said, “The training focused on self-awareness tools, the importance of freeing ourselves from any negative feelings and learning how to cope with tension and anxiety. It also concentrated on the concepts of love and self-appreciation and how weak and strong points are formed, through the use of meditation and self-worth exercises, connecting with the self and strong internal dialogue.”

With this final training, MIFTAH has completed its project “Empowering rural women through small, income-generating projects”, which it has implemented in several Palestinian locations since 2008. The project was successful in terms of the impact and change it created in the lives of over 400 marginalized, rural women and their families in the Jericho and Jordan Valley, Ramallah/Al Bireh and Jerusalem districts. MIFTAH invested in this success by continuing to connect with the women and support their economic participation in Palestinian society. It also supported their involvement in the local market by opening the doors to more modern methods and technology to access foreign markets.

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