Stories from the Field

In the West Bank, civilians are cut out from the rest of the world because of the Israeli siege without any supply or support; they are deprived from basic life elements and their rights to live normally, in addition to difficulties they face in receiving support from foreign aid agencies. This obliged many operating aid agencies in the West Bank to seize operation, which in turn made the daily lives of Palestinians more miserable and prohibited them from getting their dire needs like nutriment and medicines.

Al Khodr, Houssan, Nahalen, Fouken valley, Bater, Al Walja and Al Jabaa in the South of West Bank are an example of olive oil rich, yet low-income villages that are suffering from the Israeli siege, the nearby Israeli settlements and the new West Bank Wall/Barrier. Farmers in these villages are constantly facing huge hurdle to access and cultivate their olive oil rich lands - the only source of income for them - especially farms close to the Israeli settlements or the new West Bank Wall/Barrier.

To alleviate the suffering and meet the dire need of low-income Palestinian olive oil growers and farmers, HCI has implemented the olive oil development project which consisted on building the capacity of farmers and provided them with much needed harvesting and pruning tools and equipments that helped them increase and improve their olive oil production, thus boosting their income.

In the West Bank and Gaza, HCI has pioneered in working on projects in the area of Olive Oil Development since 2005. In 2005, HCI, in partnership with local partners, pioneered into a totally new venture to help Palestinian olive oil growers and farmers. The initiative started in 2005 and helped to build up both the community networks and the expertise in the field of Olive oil development which enabled HCI to be one of the leading organizations in olive oil development in the country.

Far more than sentimental attachment in the eyes of Palestinians, olive trees–properly managed–can raise the incomes of hard-working farmers who often get relatively low prices from traders for their olive oil and not the true value of their product. HCI is committed to revitalizing this traditional Palestinian industry, in partnership with local partners.

Building on this success and accumulated experience, this recent intervention has targeted a new region in the south of West Bank, particularly seven low-income villages around Bethlehem suffering from deteriorating security and economic conditions and several restrictions and barriers.

140 farms were targeted by project activities. Equipments and tools were distributed to 70 farms in condition that they will be shared with another 70 neighbour farms.
Low-income and vulnerable olive farmers were targeted by project activities. Selection criteria included: low income families; families with more than 6 family members; families not receiving any support from other sources; priority for vulnerable groups, particularly families who have members in the family with special needs, widows, and elders; farms suffering from restrictions and barriers, e.g., close to Israeli settlements and/or near the West Bank Wall/Barrier.

New equipment, especially for harvesting and storage, included saws, plastic boxes, insect traps, ladders, and tanks for storage were distributed.

This was complemented by orientation workshops for farmers on important topics such as pruning, harvesting methods and techniques, preventing and fighting diseases, watering, and the right time for olive picking. HCI’s direct work with farmers boosted acceptance of these methods and increased awareness of the potential of a developing, local, olive oil industry.

Several local government and non-government, formal and informal entities were consulted and were invited to participate in project activities, including the selection of beneficiaries, the selection of targeted areas, and the prioritization of needs as well as in the delivery of project activities. The project was implemented in partnership with HCI local partner, the West Bank based Vocational Rehabilitation Workshops Society for Girls (VRWSG).

Local suppliers and extension workers benefited from those distributions. Harvesting and pruning tools and equipments were procured and acquired from local suppliers to support them in these deteriorating economic conditions.

“HCI contribution has improved the lives of many families living in despair and gave hope to many hopeless children. Just watch the smile of every child who benefited from HCI school bags project you can then see the great impact the project had on those children” commented Sarah Barakat, President of HCI local partner in the West Bank, Vocational Rehabilitation Workshops Society for Girls (VRWSG).

Among many stories of need and despair that was revealed to the VRWSG team, the story of Jihad, an 11 year old orphan from Hebron, was the most touching. Jihad almost fell into tears while holding his new schoolbag, not believing that he will go to school with a new schoolbag this year. He came to the VRWSG center where some of the school bags were distributed. Upon receiving his bag, he thanked one of the volunteers by saying “Every year, I either use an old one and fear that my books will fall off, or I wait, as some of the neighbors might pass me another one that their child used to have, and I use it hoping that it wont break soon”, Jihad was smiling and would not let go of his bags. All the volunteers at the center were very touched, seeing him that happy.

The distribution of the school bags, stationary and school supplies this year was a natural response to the needs of the families included in an assessment carried by the VRWSG in the towns of Hebron and Bethlehem, to identify projects that can provide instant support to poor families.

The holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the school year together in the same month were one of too many expenses on families barely making a living. By offering a schools bag, stationary and school supplies, around thousand family were able to make sure that this month would end smoothly, without having to make a hard decision, like taking a child out of school to cut expenses (most probably a female child). A women from Batir village shouted out laud while receiving the school bags: “I did not know where to get the money to buy school supplies for my daughters. Please make sure to pass my gratitude to HCI”. The VRWSG team was happy to hear such comments; still, they knew that together with the HCI, a long road is still waiting ahead, especially while working in Palestine, were the Israeli occupation constitutes the main obstacle in reaching people in need.

The villages that received the school bags could have simply waited forever till the school bags arrive if the volunteer’s convoy was not so determined to carry on. “We don’t believe in failure. We believe in challenging the obstacles we face in order to succeed”, commented Mariam, a VRWSG team member. Her comment summarizes the group of women determination to overcome many of the challenges in working in volatile area such as the West Bank. “When we were delivering the school supplies to AL Woljeh village, we were asked by the Israeli soldiers to step down from the car and we were interrogated about the bags, and we were requested to open each and every single one of them, as they were not exactly thrilled with the idea of helping Palestinian students. After a brief argument, and after ten bags were opened and thrown on to the ground, we were released, and were able to deliver the bags,” Mariam explained. “Another check point in Hebron stopped the team of the Union of Palestinian Women Committee for three hours without a reason. They were forced to stand up under the sun for about three hours before releasing them,” she concluded.

As Palestinian students go to school, and as families celebrate Ramadan and look forward for the Eid, not having to worry about some of the school expenses, and not having to pull one of the children out of the school, HCI is planning for additional projects to improve the lives of these families, especially the life of their children. This is what HCI does: help alleviate human suffering through projects that foster self-reliance, self-directness and preserves human dignity.