Support Health 4 Palestine.
There are over 1 million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank. There are 19 UN-run Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank. Health 4 Palestine, 1for3’s program, works in 6 of them with a total population of over 100,000. We want to do more. You can help. Join Our Campaign.
Pic. A child from the Aida refugee camp turns the tables on a Health 4 Palestine international physician with a stethoscope.
Health 4 Palestine is an amazing community-based program. For the past 8 years, it has brought together an international team of medical professionals with local doctors & nurses to train & employ young Palestinians to be community health workers. Together, they now serve 6 refugee camps with much needed high-touch home-based care.
Building Healthcare in Palestine
How We Will Use Donated Funds
#1. Make a Health Clinic Ready for Large-scale Use. It will serve 2 camps with a total population of over 10,000 -- expanding screenings, chronic disease management & follow-up care.
#2. Train & Employ Young Health Workers in Jalazone Camp. This will strengthen healthcare access while addressing unemployment. Photo: UNRWA.
#3. Launch a Multi-year Expansion of Community-based Healthcare with Bethlehem University. Through this partnership, we are building a sustainable training & expansion pathway for community-based healthcare.
#4. Support Community Health Workers in Besieged Camps. We will equip & sustain health workers, who are already serving families, under severe movement restrictions & forced displacement.
#5. Expand Pediatric Wellness Training. We will continue to grow education & preventative care efforts to improve children's health outcomes.
#6. Use Locally Grown Food for Better Health. Through rooftop gardens & other environmental initiatives, we are integrating nutrition & chronic disease care using locally grown produce.
*You can contribute by clicking on the Donate to Health 4 Palestine button at the top of the page. It goes to the fundraising campaign website that has all the details on Health 4 Palestine. You can also send a check to: 1for3, 58 N. Border Road, Winchester, MA. 01890.
Opening School After War Closure.
The US/Israel war with Iran & Lebanon starting in early March closed our kindergarten school. During this period the 78 students learned at home remotely. The teachers taught electronically with families coping the best they could. Then, there was a lot of excitement when the school could open again.
Here is a screen shot of 2 teachers giving lessons to their students from home. Their dedication was amazing. The school has 7 teachers, 78 students, 3 classrooms & a lot of happiness, despite it all.
Students were very happy to be back in school! They missed their friends, the teachers & the learning space. Zahrat Al-Yasmeen Kindergarten is set up to bring the outside & inside together. This makes it easier for students to collaboratively learn & to do things like learn about plants & gardening.
“The ball pit was very much missed by students. Activity is a big part of the school’s pedagogy. Most of these students live behind Israel’s apartheid wall & military checkpoints. Helping them have a childhood is an important goal of the school’s leadership.
Training Community Health Workers
For the first time, over 2 days, the most experienced team of Community Health Workers in Health 4 Palestine (CHWs) led trainings for new CHWs. In the past this was done by international medical professionals. Now, it can be done by local Palestinian team members. This is because of their experience & professionalism.
The training was interactive & hands-on. Jalazone & Tulkarm team members met at our partner the Lajee Center’s offices in Aida camp. It included 5 CHWs from Tulkarm & Nur Shams camps, 6 CHWs & 1 administrator from Jalazone camp & 8 CHWs from Aida camp.
CHWs from Jalazone & Tulkarm/Nur Shams joined the Aida team on home visits. They met patients & learned techniques of consistent long-term care. The Tulkarm/Nur Shams team recently launched a pediatric initiative. Being able to accompany Aida’s pediatric-focused visits provided hands-on learning.
Growing More Food.
Our food program is expanding opportunities for families to grow their own food & to share with their neighbors. We are working with our local partner, the Lajee Center in the UN-run Aida camp & Boston-based Design Palestine to create 29 new rooftop gardens. These growing areas will repurpose unused rooftop spaces converting them into places of food production. Training & mentoring will help residents achieve good yields & solve problems. This is a pilot program & if successful will be offered to other refugee-camp communities in the West Bank.
Over the past 10 years, 1for3 has supported the creation of food-growing centers & training programs in 3 camps. Our impact includes 45 rooftop gardens, 4 community hydroponic rooftop gardens, 50 micro growing towers, 1 seedling garden & 1 greenhouse. Women & young people make up the core participants in our food work.
1for3: 1 Organization - 3 Palestinian Rights.
Health
Health 4 Palestine (H4P) is our program that supports community health. In it, 28 trained community health workers (CHWs) work in 6 camps with over 570 patients. Most care focuses on treating chronic diseases, pediatric wellbaby & trauma.
Food
Over the past 10 years, we have supported the creation of food-growing centers & training programs in 3 camps. Our impact includes 45 rooftop gardens, 4 community hydroponic rooftop gardens, 50 micro growing towers,1 seedling garden, and 1 greenhouse. Women and young people make up the core participants in our food work. Our goal is to advance Palestinian food sovereignty & support healthy lifestyles.
Education
Since 2019, 1for3 has brought together Palestinian & US educators to support child-focused learning. Since 2021 they have worked to form the Zahrat Al-Yasmeen Kindergarten in the UN-run Aida refugee camp. Together, they build curricula, teaching methods & new offerings of student support. Opened in 2021 in Bethlehem, West Bank, the school kindergarten provides a great education for 75 children.