West Ramallah ADP
Villages ADP Located In: Rantis, Qibya, Dier Abu Meshal, Ain Arik, Dier Nitham, Kharbatha Bani Harith, and Budrus
No. of Registered Children: 4,285
No. of Direct Beneficiaries: 4,285
No. of Indirect Beneficiaries: 23,000
Communities Served: 7
No. of community-based organizations and/or Schools Served: 24
Total No. of Staff: 10 fulltime staff members & one intern
Support Office: World Vision USA
WHERE WE WORK
The Palestinian city of Ramallah is located to the north of Jerusalem. In Arabic the name means “height of God”. Ramallah serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority and the main centre of activity in the West Bank. The district of Ramallah extends over several hills from the Jerusalem governorate in the south to the Nablus governorate in the north. In the east, it borders Jericho, Tubas, and the Salfit governorates. The total population of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate is 279,730.
OUR COMMUNITIES
The Ramallah governorate covers a total area of approximately 855 square kilometers or 330 square miles: little over 6 per cent of which is built-up area; 3.5 per cent has been swallowed by illegal Israeli settlement expansion, and 5 per cent has been confiscated to be used for the route of the illegal Israeli separation barrier. Today’s estimated remaining Ramallah governorate area is 780 square kilometers or 301 square miles. Other challenges faced by the population of western Ramallah include: weak public transportation systems, checkpoints, Israeli settlements and the separation barrier.
THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN
Through its West Ramallah Area Development Programme (ADP), World Vision has been working in western Ramallah since 2001.
World Vision continues to work towards ensuring the sustained well-being of children and the fulfilment of their rights within their families and communities. It is the hope of World Vision that all children can enjoy: good health, are educated, love God and their neighbours, and are cared for protected and participating. The West Ramallah ADP works to enhance the educational environment of children through the rehabilitation and construction of schools and kindergartens. World Vision also provides teachers with on-going training, and children with educational tools, such as school supplies, furniture and equipment to improve their educational experience and better prepare them for a brighter future.
ENJOY GOOD HEALTH
World Vision strives to help children and communities enjoy good health, are well-nourished, and are protected from infection, disease and injury. Mother and child health and nutrition is one of the focal points of World Vision’s work in western Ramallah. In an effort to further this aim, World Vision offers Health awareness campaigns for children and mothers to the communities in West Ramallah. Economic development opportunities are also provided to poor and vulnerable families in the area, as well as vocational training opportunities for young women and men to empower them to develop personally so that they can contribute to their communities.
PLAYING SAFELY
Play is a vital aspect in the healthy development of children and the West Ramallah ADP encourages children to do just this in a safe and protected environment. Through providing safe play areas for children as well as child gardens and centres, World Vision works towards ensuring children have the opportunity to be cared for in a loving and safe area. In partnership and cooperation with its local community-based organisations, World Vision seeks to build children’s capacity and life skills as well as that of the communities as a whole. World Vision strives to prioritize children, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, and empowers them, together with their families and communities, to improve their well-being.
World Vision also encourages children to protect themselves when they are using the internet. The West Ramallah ADP’s Keeping Children Safe Online (KCSO) team continued to work on the sustainability of the pilot project. The team is working on developing a manual for social works and working with educators (in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Education) to integrate education about online risks into the curriculum. In addition, they are working with the Cypriote Cyber Police to enhance the capacity of the Palestinian Cyber Police through trainings and distribution of equipment.
Toward better Eduaction
As part of the program commitment towards supporting KGs, The West Ramallah ADP built effective partnership with Dier Abu Mesha’l local village aiming to rehabilitate the only two kindergartens existing. The kindergartens were inappropriate at all; lacked most of needed appropriate equipment, furniture and learning materials. Therefore, the local council exerted efforts and was able to collect financial contribution which used to rehabilitate one kindergarten and the program rehabilitated the other one. In addition to that, skilled Labor from local community has volunteered to paint these two KG buildings
A SHARED FUTURE
World Vision Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza seeks to impact the lives of over 200,000 children through its programmes and directly benefits the lives of over 168,000 people in 116 communities throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. Through its Area Development Programmes, World Vision works with 500 community-based organisations and schools to empower families and children to become agents of change for a better future. World Vision seeks to ensure that all families and children are cared for, protected and participating.
Sources:
1) Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), http://www.pcbs.gov.ps