Hope Flowers School

AL AMAL CHlLD CARE CENTER - THE HOPE FLOWERS SCHOOL
PEACE & DEMOCRACY  POB 732  Bethlehem, Palestine * Via Israel

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Home of Peace Education in the Middle East

This is our goal at Al Amal, to infuse our children with the importance, beauty and necessity of peace.

Hussein Ibrahim Issa

مدرسة زهور الامل الثانوية

 الخضر  - قرب برك سليمان

 بيت لحم – 732.ب ص.

 HOPE FLOWERS NEEDS YOUR HELP

Note: since this letter was published, Hope Flowers tells us that the tank has been moved, but as Bethlehem is still under curfew, it is not clear if students will be able to use the road.

Newsletter, November 2002

Dear Friends of the Hope Flowers School

Warm Greetings to you all. It has been a long time since we have been in direct contact with you. We apologize for the long delay, but hope that you will understand the pressure and challenges that we have been encountering during the last few months. It is unfortunate that we haven't been able to work on daily basis since March, because of the series of curfews and closures that have been imposed on Bethlehem from March to August 2002. However, in this memorandum we want to let you know we are continuing our work, effort, and commitment to our philosophy, and that we are even moving ahead with it in this hard time.

Educational Progress - Despite the violent situation, attitudes and acts, Hope Flowers had moved forward in upgrading its educational philosophy and curriculum. Hope Flowers started to teach French  the first grade in Sept. 2002, and has been continuing ever since. The French language curriculum will be expanded to the upper grades year by year. The school has received financial support from the French consulate in Jerusalem, to teach French language lessons.

Considering the impact of the current situation on our students; we have found that the kids need emotional care more than ever. During the period of the re-invasions, curfews, and the presence of Israeli tanks in most of the streets of Bethlehem, the students have been badly affected, in both psychological and emotional terms. These times are just like nightmares for them. Having disruptions to the life of the society and their academic achievements, we make the classroom count with learning that goes beyond the curriculum and which encourages students to talk about their feelings, fears, wishes and experiences. In this domain, we have also increased the non-curriculum activities at the school, in which students spend two hours after they finish their schedule every Saturday and Wednesday doing agricultural activities, playing music, having time in the library, playing games, having computer lessons and working on the Internet.

We believe that doing such non-curriculum activities help them to keep their minds away of the violent atmosphere outside the school -- even if it is only for few hours -- and to meet their basic needs as children.

The road of the school has been blockaded with rocks since March; the main road leading to the Hope Flowers School has been blockaded with rocks by the Israeli soldiers since March 2002. The closure of the road has become the greatest difficulty we have. Many contacts are being made to reopen the road, and each one has had a negative reply. The American Congressman Mr. David Price intervened a few months ago, as did contacts with an Israeli high ranking official, and the road has not been opened yet. The last contact was made three weeks ago with the Israeli coordination office, and the response was that the road would not be opened.

The students and staff face a great difficulty every day in reaching the school. They take a "Palestinian access non-roadway" through the valley of Solomon's pools, which is full of rocks and very dangerous for the kids and for the school bus. As a result of this suffering, we have started to look for an alternative: repairing the access road. By the generous contributions from our friends, we have been able to do some work on the access road, such as removing the rocks, widening it, and making it flat. So, it has become safer to use by the students and by the school bus. However, it is still a necessity to complete the work and do the pre-asphalting which protects the road from being damaged again, before it starts raining. (All the done work could be dug out again by the rain water.) Therefore, we are looking for your kind assistance for this purpose.

Commitment to Peace Philosophy is still Rock Solid, Through all of this, the school's commitment to its philosophy of peace & democracy education has not wavered. We are looking for opportunities to continue to express this philosophy with partner schools in Israel. At this time, peace education means protecting the kids from being affiliated with the violent atmosphere all around them. This is a very critical time and the kids need lot of protection. We are working with three social workers who are assisting in meeting with the parents, and talking to them about best ways to give the children the care they need in such a time, and how to handle their problems and fears. In addition to the non-curriculum activities in which the kids have the chance to express their feelings, have creative opportunities by doing the agriculture work, handicraft work, theatre, computer and internet time, music lessons and organize entertainment games inside the school.

At the meantime, there are considerable obstacles in the current environment, including the border closure by Israel. In addition to the restrictions we have from the Palestinian Authority on such actions. We take this seriously and have agreed among the parents and staff to wait for direct involvement in any public way until the situation gets better. Meanwhile, almost daily contacts are maintained with our partner schools by phone, fax and e-mail.

Exchange Programs and Visitors, Through the partnership program between the Hope Flowers School and Fredrichgymnasuim School in Frankfurt Oder, seven teachers from Fredrich gymnasuim visited the Hope Flowers on Monday Oct. 7th, and spent a school day seeing the students' activities and classes, talking to the staff, and learning about the school's work and philosophy. The German staff and the Hope Flowers staff planned an exchange together for teachers and students for the next year.

The American Secretary of State Assistant visited the Hope Flowers, On Friday, Oct. 25th Mr. William Bearns, the American Secretary of State Assistant, visited the Hope Flowers with a number of American diplomats. They had a briefing about the special work, philosophy and activities of the school. The students gave Mr. Bearns a message welcoming him and asking him to assist in appealing to the Israeli government to reopen the road and enabling them to reach the school safely. Mr. Bearns saw the road blockade and the problem and suffering that comes out of it. The Israeli soldiers opened a small part of the road one hour before the arrival of Mr. Bearns and closed it again directly after his leaving. Moreover, Hope Flowers gave Bearns a letter to be handed to the Israeli Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben Aleazar, asking him to reopen the school's road and stop the suffering of the students.

The Financial Situation of Hope Flowers -Despite the persistent hardships and the deepening economic chaos of the political crisis (70 - 75% unemployment in Bethlehem), we have been able to meet our highest priority, which is paying the staff salaries on time. This is because of the faithful supporters like you. This alone has enabled us to continue to hold our special candle in the darkness around us. We are focusing now on our need to continue our work, and are asking for donations so that Hussein's vision will continue to grow and blossom during the coming years.

As you may be aware, the financial burden on the school has increased since the Intifada started two years ago. Most of our students' parents depend on work inside Israel for their income, and since the closures were imposed on Palestinian cities by Israel, they could not reach their work places any more. Therefore, a great number of our students stopped paying their school tuitions because of their families' hard financial situation. As a result, the school had to increase the number of scholarships it gives to students to keep the enrollment up at the school, and not to have them leaving their education because of financial problems. Through the school's years of functioning the Hope Flowers used to depend mainly on the students tuitions for its income. Since this income had drastically decreased, the school has started to seek the assistance of its friends to support the overcoming of this hard situation.

Ways to support, We will be grateful for your support, which will be used to meet the immediate needs of the school, as well as contributing to projects such as: pre-asphalting work at the school's road, covering part of the scholarships, and supporting the staff salaries. Donations could be sent directly to the school's address (registered mail) to:

The Hope Flowers School, Bethlehem, P.O.Box 732, West Bank. Via Israel

Or to the school's bank account, Donors from the USA could send their contributions to the following address:

Chase Manhattan Bank - New York, A/C Arab Jordan Investment Bank, Amman - Jordan Chips ID 136008, SWIFT AJIBJOAX , A/C Palestine Investment Bank For Further Credit of "the Hope Flowers School", A/C NO. 73535, Bethlehem Branch 76-411, Palestine

Donors from Europe could send their contributions to the following address: Deutsche Bank Ag, Frankfurt – Germany, A/C Arab Jordan Investment Bank, Amman - Jordan Chips ID 136008, SWIFT AJIBJOAX , A/C Palestine Investment Bank, For Further Credit of "the Hope Flowers School", A/C NO. 73535, Bethlehem Branch 76-411, Palestine

For Donors from the United States, donations could be sent to the Orange County Peace Fund for tax deduction purposes to the following address: "Orange County Middle East Peace Fund , P.O. Box 5891 Orange California 92863 - 5891 USA"

As you may already know, the school's work is based on a track record of almost 18 years of solid experience, which we are now extending with great results, and moving ahead a year after the other.

We will be glad to provide you with any further information you need to know. At the meantime, many thanks for your consideration of our work. You are very welcome to come to the Hope Flowers and see up close just what it is that you are supporting to preserve. We would love to show you, and you will be always welcome.

All the best,

Hind Issa, director, the Hope Flowers School

 

DONATIONS

Helping Hope Flowers

Hope Flowers is saddled with tremendous debts. and cannot continue its work without your support. In the U.S., you can make a tax- exempt donation to: Orange County Middle East Peace Fund, P. O. Box 5891, Orange, CA   92863-5891. Mark your donation "For Hope Flowers School." You can also give money directly to the school:

Chase Manhattan Bank-New York

A/C Arab Jordan Investment Bank

Amman – Jordan Chips ID 136008

SWIFT AJIBJOAX

A/C Palestine Investment Bank

For Further Credit of "the Hope Flowers School"

A/C NO. 73535

Bethlehem Branch 76-411

Palestine

You can also help Hope Flowers by volunteering. The school welcomes the help of volunteers from all over the world - a rewarding experience you will not forget.

 

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