11 Years of Visiting Gaza, Seeing it Deteriorate
by Liz Demarest
Apr 25, 2018
Since December 2007 I have visited Gaza nine times. It is April 2018 and I just got back from a trip there. Over the course of 11 years, I have seen this beautiful strip of land deteriorate to the point where it is hard to imagine how much worse it can be. On my first…
Read More5 Ways Anera Helps Protect the Environment
Apr 23, 2018
Did you know that one of Anera’s priorities is protecting the environment? We incorporate green practices into a variety of projects, from building with recycled materials to irrigating with treated water. Here are five ways, thanks to our community of supporters, we are helping to address pollution, climate change and limited resources in Palestine (Gaza/West…
Read MoreTo Whom Much is Given, Much is Asked
by Murad Siam
Apr 5, 2018
A little over 15 years ago, my parents’ home in California burned to the ground. I drove up as the rubble was being cleared away and asked the workers to stop so I could rummage through and see what was salvageable. In a small frayed pouch I found all of my deceased father’s documents from…
Read MoreUpdates from Gaza for Water Day 2018
by Sean Carroll
Mar 22, 2018
How often does one see government officials continue as planned with a scheduled public appearance after an assassination attempt against them en route? Last week, after a bomb detonated near the convoy of the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, he continued on to inaugurate the Northern Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment plant. That tells us how important…
Read More7 Years On: Remembering Syrian Refugees
Mar 15, 2018
After seven years of war in Syria, more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees live in informal tented settlements, abandoned buildings, or cramped spaces in decades-old Palestinian camps within Lebanon. Among them are the “twice refugeed”—displaced Palestinian refugees from Syria. They join the half-million Palestinian refugees already living in formal camps in Lebanon. Syrians living in…
Read MoreWhen women are empowered, everyone benefits.
Mar 8, 2018
“No society can be just, and no human or economic development even-spread and sustainable if women, who represent half of the population, are left behind, if their needs and aspirations are not addressed.” – Dr. Lamis Abu-Nahleh, founder of the Birzeit University Women’s Studies Program Women and girls are a powerful force in the communities…
Read MoreI’ve never left that hospital room in Burj El Barajneh
by Ellen Siegel
Mar 1, 2018
I was born toward the end of the Holocaust. I went to Hebrew school, marked all the Jewish holidays, and then went to a Jewish school of nursing. In 1967, I was asked to go volunteer in Israel. I didn’t know much about the politics there, but I heard there were Palestinians who were living…
Read MoreUpdate on Anera Projects in Gaza
Feb 12, 2018
Anera is actively carrying out many important relief and development projects in Gaza. Below are just a few recent accomplishments. Infrastructure Road Rehabilitation in Beit Lahia Lack of proper infrastructure and sudden damage to irrigation pipes or water wells are just some of the daily challenges for farmers in Beit Lahia, Gaza. “During winter, this…
Read MorePalestinian Women Increase Incomes Through Gaza Cooperative
Feb 5, 2018
The Society of Rural Women Development, a women’s cooperative in Gaza, makes Palestinian foods like maftoul, kaek and pastries. 160 women were able to increase their income by 55%. Video: Palestinian Women Increase Incomes Through Gaza Cooperative
Read MorePalestine is always close to my heart even if I’m far away
by Zeina Azzam
Jan 31, 2018
When I was a teenager, my father planted a fig tree in our backyard. Each morning he would go out to his garden, his small bustan, to check on his shajarat teen. This was in New York. As you might expect, the poor tree struggled to survive through cold winters and short summers. Yet my father…
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