2004 Progress Report

1: Supporting Libraries Program:

In addition to establishing three new libraries the FHF continued to support the two Libraries it has established in 2003. The progress details in that field are as follows:

  • Supporting the establishment of a Library at Old City Youth Association. Support included providing furniture, books, television and video, Computer and Printer in addition to covering the salary of the Librarian for five months.
  • Supporting the establishment of a Library at Silwan Athleic Club at Ras AlAmoud. Support included providing Furniture, books, computer, and salary for librarian for three months.
  • Supporting Biddo Library: support included providing books, furniture, fax machine, in addition to renovating the Library.
  • Supporting the salary of the librarian at Burg Alaqlaq Library at the old city for seven months.
  • Supporting Al Ru’ya Library in Wadi Ajoz through buying additional books for children.
  • The FHF has created a committee of 20 volunteers in support of the five Libraries. The committee was able to develop a major fundraising activity which included a dinner party in addition to launching a sponsored reading campaign that aimed at encouraging reading among children aged 7-15 on one hand and involving them in collecting donations for the benefits of their Libraries on the other.

2: Support of sports teams, Summer camps, Scouts, and Dabkeh groups.

The FHF provided support to several youth groups this year including the following:

Al Ram youth scout group:

The FHF's financial support came in the form of scout uniforms and some musical instruments. The program's main goals are highlighted below:

  • Engaging youth in the al Ram area and developing their mental, social, cultural and athletic abilities
  • Encouraging volunteer work as a way to reinforce social networks within the city
  • Increasing membership in the troop
  • Teaching order and discipline

Al Mukaber scouts group:

The FHF also supported Al Mukaber Scouts Group through providing musical instruments and uniform for the scouts.

Palestinian Popular Arts Center / Silwan:

The FHF supported the Palestinian popular arts troop in Silwan, known for its Palestinian traditional dance (Dabkeh) performances, as a way to preserve Palestinian culture and heritage and pass it on to future generations. The goals of this program are highlighted below:

  • Encouraging artistic talent among the youth of Jerusalem
  • Providing positive activities to fill the void left by the current political and economic reality
  • Increasing interest in popular and cultural heritage among youth
  • Protecting the youth of Jerusalem in light of the dangers they face as east Jerusalem residents

The FHF provided the youngest group in the troop with uniforms and musical instruments and training funding for 4 months.

3: Drug Prevention, Awareness and Treatment Program:

The FHF continued its support to. "The Old City counseling center"

which is supervised by Caritas The center works both in counseling and treatment of drug addicts, in addition to a prevention program directed to youth at schools and youth centers.

Support to Naji Group: The FHF helped Narcotics Anonymous Jerusalem International Group in covering its office rent expenses. NAJI supports the NA Group in Jerusalem, which is a group of clean drug addicts that meet on a daily basis to give support to each other.

Teachers training: The FHF organized a training course for 15 teachers that aimed at developing teachers’ knowledge and skills in developing drug prevention programs for students at 7th-9th grades.

International day for combating drug addiction: The FHF supported several activities on that day which where carried out by several institutions that work in the field.

Summer Camps

The FHF supported the following summer camps:

1. Talented Youth Summer Camp: This camp aimed at exposing 30 science talented students to several activities including:

  • Creative thinking games
  • Materials Science
  • Electronics and technology
  • Languages workshop
  • Visiting science museums

2. Improving basic Arabic reading and writing skills summer camp: Part of the FHF Early Literacy Intervention Program, this camp targeted illiterate students (5-7 grade) at one of the five Al-Aytam schools in Jerusalem. It included improving reading and writing skills for weak students, in addition to diagnosing learning disabilities and treatment for those who suffer any.

3. Five Awqaf Schools Summer Camps: The FHF has also supported five summer camps that included several recreational activities for young children.