 In addition to annual grants in increasing amounts to the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin, Pilgrims of Ibillin will also provide small grants (usually in the range of $2500 to $8000) to Peace-Building projects in the Holy Land beyond Ibillin. The following priorities will guide the choices, and every project will be visited by Pilgrims’ staff or board representatives before it is approved.
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Pilgrims will invest in schools in the Holy Land that share the Mar Elias Educational Institutions’ goal of Building Peace on the Desktops of Students.
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We will give Peace-building grants to support Palestinian Christians’ efforts to provide meaningful jobs and livable circumstances so that members of this community can remain and thrive in their homeland.
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We will use our diversification grants for unique projects where Pilgrims’ contribution clearly makes a key difference. We prefer that our funding will help something happen on its own, rather than being “one drop in a large bucket” of funding.
In February 2008 Bob Sawyer, Joan Deming, and George Shalabi visited each of the programs described below and recommended the following grants, which were approved by the Pilgrims of Ibillin Board on 2/13/08. The First Peace-Building Grants were given in February 2008 from 2007 funds held over for this purpose.
$2500 Peace Child Israel
$5000 St. George Melkite Church Sewing Project, Zababdeh (Church pictured above)
$5000 Friends' School, Ramallah - Water Resources
$5000 Friends' School, Ramallah - Scholarships
$2500 Al-Haneen Theatre, Lotof Nweisser, Nazareth
$2500 Leadership Development Program, Diyar Consortium, Rev. Mitri Raheb, Bethlehem
$2000 Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Bishop Munib Younan, Jerusalem
$25,000 Total Grants Click here to donate to any of these Peace-Building Projects. Thanks!
Peace Child Israel Alumni Follow-up and 20th Reunion: PCI brings together equal numbers of Jews and Arabs in high school to build reconciliation and peacemaking through drama. We observed a group of about 20 who were asked, in small groups, to do an improvisation depicting a ritual important in their tradition (birth, death, for example). After this brief drama they discussed it and reflected on it. Two facilitators led the group, one Jew, one Arab. One is experienced in drama and the other in group process. The 20th reunion is to bring together “graduates” of the program (now in its 20th year) for the first time. The reunion process will include a survey of participants in an attempt to see what have been the results of the PCI experience for participants. Granted: $2500 to support the survey and reunion.
 St. George Sewing Project: St. George’s is a Melkite Parish in the Christian village of Zababdeh near Jenin in the West Bank. Abuna Firas has begun a sewing project to provide jobs, strengthen the local economy, and encourage families to remain there. He already has six commercial sewing machines in addition to three that he leases for training purposes. We were impressed with the sincerity and vision of this young priest. He was assigned to the parish in 2002 after the village had been without a Melkite priest for 17 years. He is rebuilding the parish and says that while prayer is essential, priests who pray without addressing the needs of the community and its people are “liars.”
http://www.stgeorgeinzababdeh.com/index.shtml
Granted: $5000 to purchase 4 new machines.
The Friends Schools in Ramallah have a long history of serving children and youth in that city and surrounding areas. They provide kindergarten through high school classes, offering high academic standards as well as an “ethics program” that develops the Quaker values of respect, equality, and non-violence. Their program also includes a 3-year environmental awareness curriculum. We felt a great similarity to the vision and goals of MEEI. Shadi Othman, the school engineer and project manager and an alumnus, spoke eloquently about how the program “builds personality on all levels.” We funded 2 projects:
 Water Resources: The stated immediate goal is to repair and restore a critical cistern. The two campuses have 8-10 cisterns constructed long ago. Their goal is to repair the cistern as part of an overall water resource plan to re-use wastewater and capture rainwater for use. When implemented it will save money, establish a more environment-friendly campus, and serve as a model for others. Granted: $5000 for essential repairs of the main cistern currently in use.
Friends - Scholarships. Because 80% of the schools’ budget comes from tuition, the cost of tuition is high: from $1700 to $3000 per year depending on the grade level. Twenty per cent of the student body get financial aid, all based on need. No student gets more than 70% tuition assistance. The school struggles to get enough scholarship funding to assure that less-privileged students have access to the excellent education offered here. Granted: $5000 for scholarships
AL-Haneen Theatre, Lotof Nweisser (Nazareth). Lotof is an actor-producer who goes to schools throughout Israel doing puppet presentations and one-person dramas encouraging dignity, respect, and acceptance. He has adapted “King Lear” for the Palestinian experience. See www.alhaneen.org.
Granted: $2500 for presentations at MEEI and one other school.
Young Adult Leadership Program, Diyar Consortium (Bethlehem) The program is directed by the Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Ev. Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and author of “I Am a Palestinian Christian.” Twenty-four young adults, 22-29 years old, will meet weekly for 10 months to build skills in three main areas: Leadership skills (communication, vision, planning), Spiritual Growth (Bible study, spirituality, psychological self-understanding), and Managerial Skills (administration, budgeting, fundraising). Dr. Raheb stated that, “Much of the mess we are in is due to the lack of leadership.” He places such a high priority on this leadership program that he has made a commitment to turn down most international speaking invitations in order to have time to invest here.
Granted: $3000 from 2007 funds. We will also consider additional funds in 2008 to cover this program except for an out of town conference.
 Scholarships for students in Jerusalem Lutheran School. Bishop Younan is Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, located in the Old City of Jerusalem just yards from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Among the many ministries of the ELCJHL are schools that embody ideals similar to those at MEEI, including the Al-Mahaba Kindergarten, Jerusalem.
See www.elcjhl.org /Educational Ministry.
Granted: $2000 for scholarships for ELCJHL scholarships.
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Peace-Building Grants
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