One man's trash is another man's treasure Giving out of love and not out of duty

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1 Dear friends, Caritas Jerusalem attempts to improve every aspect of life by being involved in many projects and programs in the Holy Land. We believe education is a right for all children; we believe in the power of our youth and their positive impact on their peers and on the society at large. We believe that prevention is better than cure. But we cannot do all these things without the assistance of our local and international partners and friends. Thank you for making it possible. Fr. Raed Abusahlia General Director Caritas Jerusalem One man's trash is another man's treasure Giving out of love and not out of duty A local donor from Bethlehem Tony Abdo, in Ramallah Our volunteers feel it is their duty to serve the less fortunate. We think that old clothes shouldn t just be thrown out, they should be reused and help support people living in poverty. Our ultimate aim is to collect as many clothes as we can and distribute them to the needy. Stated Tony Abdo, Caritas Jerusalem s youth department coordinator. We are so used to buy new clothes every now and then, using them for a while and then discarding outrightly. A second thought is never given to the fact that the same clothes could be used by someone else. Caritas Jerusalem s Youth Department has started an initiative to collect old clothes- Old for you and new for others, the slogan says. Since the beginning of April, the Youth Department with 150 Caritas volunteers have been busy collecting used clothes in good condition, washing, ironing and mending them. The clothes will be distributed inramallah, Beir Zeit, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages. Caritas Jerusalem volunteers, hard at work in Beit Jala

2 I am so proud of the local donors who welcomed this idea; some of them even bought new clothes to give out to the needy. But I am more proud of our volunteers who worked tirelessly day and night. We couldn t have made it without the boundless energy of our volunteers! Said Abdelmasih Younan, Caritas Jerusalem s youth coordinator. There are thousands of dresses and hundreds of shirts and pairs of trousers to be given to the needy. The beauty of this project is not the amount of clothes collected, it is the spirit of Caritas which we were able to foster in the new generation- which is the spirit of love and giving. It is heartening and motivating to see so many young people who have work or school to give their valuable time to others. Stated Father Raed Abusahlia, Caritas Jerusalem General Director. Today, about one-third of the population in Palestine are students of all levels of education. All through their modern history, Palestinians have always highly valued education. There are eleven universities and thirty colleges in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Six years ago we started a partnership with the Fundacion Palestina Belen 2000 and in coordination with Caritas Chile a program to support the education of Palestinian students in the Bethlehem governorate. This year the program was extended to Ramallah governorate. We were able to reach 21 schools in Bethlehem; 6 schools in Ramallah and 2 schools in Jerusalem. Note: you can find a T.V. interview on this project on youtube Caritas Jerusalem supports Palestinian children and youth education The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. St. Augustine Thanks to the Fundacion we have been able to reach out to many families in support of covering part of the tuition fees of their children. This academic year, we have been able to reach 1,030 students with the sum of $250 each. According to the Human Development Report Office as of 15 October 2012 the Palestinian national literacy rate is 94.9% We at Caritas Jerusalem believe that education is a very important tool for dialogue and peace.

3 According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the percentage of individuals aged from (0-14) constituted 40.4% of the total population at mid It is crucial to give a good education for the young generation to grow up with hope and opportunities. Caritas Jerusalem would like to thank the Fundacion Palestina Belen 2000 for being partners in building the future of Palestine. The Silent Killer This year we were fortunate to have among us two guests from the Spanish delegation: Mr. Rodrigo Sáez, the Project Manager for Middle East countries, Caritas Spain and Mr. Rafael Reinlein, the Senior Program Manager of the Spanish Cooperation of International Development, who walked with the patients and attended the activity. In Palestine, hypertension related disease becomes one of the major health problems. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world. The theme for 2013 is high blood pressure. Caritas Jerusalem s health department marked World Health Day on the 10 th of April in the village of Aboud (in the central West Bank). Approximately 200 chronic patients from the villages of Aboud and Taybeh, the medical team, local committee members, Caritas volunteers and local villagers gathered in the center of the village and walked to Caritas Jerusalem s medical center. Dr. Khaled Dhedel, the medical director of Aboud talked about hypertension, its causes and the ways we can prevent or reduce the risk of getting it by reducing salt intake, eating a balanced diet, avoiding harmful use of alcohol, taking regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding tobacco use. Mr. Jameel Khoury, Caritas Jerusalem Convenio manager, thanked Caritas Spain and the Spanish government for the support of our projects in Aboud, Taybeh and Gaza and a patient who suffers from diabetics and hypertension talked about her experiences and how the Convenio

4 project changed her life. I was in a dark forest and didn t know what to do until I started to come to the Caritas medical center in Aboud and had some sessions with the nutritionist, the doctor and the social workers. I attended all the lectures and this program not only changed my life but also the life of my children and family. Now, I cook healthier meals, use less salt and sugar and walk for half an hour every day. I feel better and happier. I used to watch T.V. and envy people in other countries which have such projects. Thank you for bringing similar projects to Palestine and for saving my life! She said in her speech. The 8 th graders from the Latin Patriarchate School of Aboud entertained the audience with a dabke dance. medical tests, an X-Ray machine and a pharmacy. The staff of the clinic is regularly conducting health prevention sessions with the local community on women s health, smoking, road safety and home accidents. An Educational Fun Day in Shuqba Caritas Jerusalem organizes a fun day in the girls' school in Shuqba School fun days are an important part of student educational life at any level. Mr. Rodrigo and Mr. Rafael were very much impressed and they talked about the long term effect of the program and the good cooperation of Caritas Jerusalem in gathering all these people from the different villages to Aboud. The program in Aboud is funded by our partners Caritas Spain, the Spanish Cooperation of International Development (AECID) and the Spanish Government Caritas is running a primary health care clinic in Aboud since 1990, reaching out to a population of 23,000 including Aboud and 9 surrounding villages. Since 2009, the center offers specialist practices: women s health, dentistry, orthopaedics, urology and basic surgery. In addition the center has a laboratory for Allowing students to enjoy a day of fun activities to break up the routine of school work is healthy and makes school more enjoyable for students and faculty. Shuqba is a Palestinian town which is located 17 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. On the 10th of April 2013 Caritas Jerusalem s health team in collaboration with the Ministry of Education/ Department of School Health and the Health Committee of Caritas Jerusalem organized an educational fun day in the town s elementary girls school which targeted 400 students.

5 The day was aimed to increase health awareness among the elementary students. Speakers were invited to talk about the importance of primary health care, proper nutrition and physical hygiene. Also, performers were hired to entertain the students. How can you help? Support our activities Your support is essential to provide long-term assistance to our beneficiaries. Please see below our bank details to make a donation: Questionnaires were prepared in order to encourage student participation in discussions about health issues and cleanliness. The day was concluded by painting a food pyramid on the wall of the school. Bank Name: Arab Bank Swift Code: ARABPS Account number: /0/510 USD Credit Account: Caritas Jerusalem Branch No: 9110 At Arab Bank in Al-Ram P.O.Box: 2445-Al-Ram Jerusalem This activity was funded by Caritas New Zealand and New Zealand Aid Programme. In 2011 Caritas Jerusalem and Caritas New Zealand signed a three year project agreement on providing healthcare services in schools and health centers in the Aboud area and in the Gaza Strip. The project includes health awareness programs and activities tailored to each particular group with lectures and presentations on nutrition, dental and body hygiene, psychological and environmental health.