December 30, 2016

A Glance Back, As 2017 Nears

December 24, 2016

Dear Friends

Just a note to wish you and your family a Joyful Holiday, and to give you a glimpse of a few things you helped make possible.

On December 2nd in Palestine, PfP dedicated a playground in memory of two young boys, one Palestinian, one African American, whose lives were ended, ultimately, by institutional racism. Rev. Graylan Hagler, who was there with a group of pastors from the United Church of Christ, performed the dedication together with Mr. Salah Ajarma, PfP’s Palestine representative. You can find coverage here.

As a reminder, we remain an all-volunteer organization that operates on what most would call a “shoestring budget”. This is, and has always been, a labor of love for us. And we hope we can count on your continued support.
Please check out our new website and be sure to place your olive oil order for the holidays. Fair Trade Certified Organic Olive Oil from PfP is the perfect holiday gift!

Love,

PfP

Asira Shamaliya

This playground serves thousands of children from three intersecting villages. Friends of Hedy Epstein have been raising money to complete this playground and dedicate it in her memory.

SkateQilya

This wonderful collaboration involved supporting SkateQilya’s summer skating camps. A ramp was built and daily skating workshops were conducted to teach skateboarding to both boys and girls. We have a short video from this fun-filled summer.

Early Childhood Education

PfP funded this kindergarten program, run by the wonderful Jenin Freedom Theater. We are delighted by the accomplishments and dedication of this team, which launched its first early education program with 12 young participants from the Jenin refugee camp.

Mashjar Juthour

PfP is happy to partner again with Mashjar Juthor, a “natural reserve that provides much needed space for cultivating the trees of Palestine while also reminding local communities of their very basic and necessary relationship to nature”. We sponsored some of their programs that strives to connect communities and youth with the importance of cultural roots and preserving the land through fun activities such as storytelling, arts and environmental education.

Aida 3

It’s true. We just put another playground in Aida. We love Lajee Center so much for the extensive programs and work they do for thousands of children. This playground will have a special dedication, which we will announce soon.

Al Yasmin Society

This playground is being built in memory of Robert Mallouk, through the generosity of his family and friends. When completed, it will serve children with special needs. The structure has been installed and will be completed when a soft outdoor rubber flooring is installed.

Qotuba

This was a difficult playground to build, as it is located in Hebron, where settler violent rampages are frequent. The playground serves mostly kindergarten aged children and is associated with a local school. Funds for this project were raised by the Madison Chapter of PfP, together with the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, with whom we built a playground in Rafah in 2004.

Olive Oil for the Holidays!

Fair Trade, Certified Organic, utterly delicious Palestinian olive oil makes the perfect gift for any occasion. The olive oil comes in several intensities, based on the age a of trees, and they are contained in elegant 500 ml bottles. You can place your order here. Please let us know if you’d like them shipped as a gift somewhere.