Environment Summer Camp for Teenagers.
The summer camp took place in early August & was led by the Health 4 Palestine & environment programs teams. It lasted for 1 week. During that time, you could see the bursts of creativity & positive energy in the youth. They have endured so much & continue to suffer on a daily basis with the ongoing Israeli military occupation & genocide in Gaza. Seeing tens of young people walking the hills, sitting under trees & learning about flora & fauna is amazing! These teenagers are usually confined to their 2 refugee camp locations, which have almost no green spaces or nature.

This is a great picture! It is of the summer camp participants at the final meeting of the week-long program. Aren’t they wonderful?!

Here Summer Camp participants learn about pollution & environmental hazards. During the week they also gained new abilities in making public presentations. This will help them in the future as they continue to develop their professional skills.

The camp provided practical ways the teens could improve their lived environments. One way was teaching about how to recycle non-organic waste. This is a project we have supported since the beginning of the organization.

Pallets are reused as tables. Tires are made into planters. These are just 2 examples. By removing waste from the garbage it means less is burnt & air quality improves. That is really important in a dense living environment likes the camps.

Getting out into nature, where possible, was perhaps the high point of the camp for participants. Here, they are hiking from the Makrour Hills to nearby Battir Village. This is an incredibly beautiful area just a few kilometers from the camps. Terraced hillsides, ancient olive trees, birds, small animals & some springs.

The hike got the teens into nature to see its glory & to learn about the diversity of local plants, the impact of climate change & of course to have some fun. They are teens after all!
Learn More About Our Work in Hydroponics: Download our Infographic HERE or click on the image.
Kindergarten Graduation!
Despite the Gaza war & genocide, ramped up apartheid laws, crushing economic conditions & daily Israeli military violence, we have a kindergarten graduation!
Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten, our preschool located in the UN-run Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem in the West Bank, graduated 50 incredible children to first grade. In only a few months another class will start, but this time with more students. 75, not 50!
This is because we added a classroom over the last year. The dedicated work of a local team of builders, Design Palestine * a group of US & Palestinian architects & hundreds of funders made it possible.
There is no better antidote to hate, violence & nihilism than education for children. It is solely about building a future, a better place for new generations of people to grow & flourish. Despite it all, incredible teachers, parents, board members, administrators, funders & advisors are astounding us all. They provide us all with hope. Thank you!
Learn More About Our Work in Education: Download our Infographic HERE or click on the image.
Keep the Faith: Celebrating the Life & Work of Jinny Chalmers
1for3 was honored to participate in the first annual Jinny Chalmers day on 14 June in Boston. At the event, the programs & projects & especially the work in education that 1for3, Friends of Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten & the team at Zahrat Al-Yasmeen do every day were featured. Jinny Chalmers was an amazing educator in Boston. For 20 years she was the principal of the Young Achievers Science & Mathematics Pilot School in Boston. Sadly, Jinny passed away in 2020.
The day was put on by the Jinny Chalmers Fund for Education Justice, a group founded to support the mission & legacy of Jinny in supporting education justice in communities around the world. The foundation supports trauma care training for kindergarten teachers in Zahrat Al-Yasmeen. This makes it possible for us to put together robust training weeks for teachers to aid their work with traumatized children. Due to the ongoing Israeli military occupation & Gaza war, the trauma of children in Palestine is all too real.
Free Medical Day in 2 Refugee Camps.
Recently, 1for3’s community health care program Health 4 Palestine held a Free Medical Day with its partner in 2 refugee camps the Lajee Center. Located in Bethlehem, the day served over 200 people with care in hypertension, diabetes, orthopedics, pediatrics, ophthalmology, urology, medications & ENT (ear, nose, and throat). Most of these offerings were new from the last Free Medical Day we sponsored.
CHWs perform blood tests on 2 people as part of the Free Medical Day. The results will help to care for diabetes.
Hypertension is a widespread chronic disease in Palestine. Here, a CHW takes a blood pressure reading.
2 Bethlehem University students of Occupational Therapy work with a man on mobility issues. Health 4 Palestine has a partnership with the OT department through its students & faculty.
Occupational Therapy students work with a person to understand causes of pain in mobility. A goal of a day like this 1 is to highlight health resources that people can utilize throughout the year.
Part of the recent health fundraising campaign supported the addition in Health 4 Palestine of pediatric wellness. Here, a doctor checks on a baby as part of the Free Medical Day.
Here, in branded vests, are 2 CHWs in Health 4 Palestine. Along with other colleagues they are employed by 1for3's partners to provide high-touch in-home care for now over 700 patients in 5 refugee camps.
1for3: 1 Organization - 3 Palestinian Rights.
Health
Health 4 Palestine (H4P) is our program that supports community health. In it, 26 trained community health workers (CHWs) work in 5 camps with over 700 patients. Most care focuses on treating chronic diseases & trauma.
Environment Food
Our work in food encompasses the construction & operation of three community hydroponic gardens & a number of micro growing towers. We provide training in hydroponics. Women & young people make up the core participants in our food work. Our goal is to advance Palestinian food sovereignty & support healthy lifestyles.
Environment Water
We established potable water quality monitoring programs, built two community cisterns, replaced 30 rooftop water tanks to safeguard household water supplies & trained refugees to conduct independent water testing that resulted in upgraded infrastructure improvements. We also led four delegations to build water testing labs & train testing technicians.
Education
Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten.
Since 2019, 1for3 has brought together Palestinian & US educators to support child-focused learning. Together, they build curricula, teaching methods & new offerings of student support. Opened in 2021 & located in the UN-run Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, West Bank, Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten provides a great pre-school education for 50 children from two UN-run camps.