Radio Hayah speaks with with Najwa Sahhar – Sayegh from Jeel Al Amal.

Blessings the community .

عربى

Now Najwa what is Jeel Al Amal ?

Jeel al amal means Generation of hope, So my parents when they started the home in 1972, they called it generation of hope as a symbol of hope at a time when there was no hope what so ever in our country, hope in a future educated generation who will build the Palestinian society. The school was stated in 1972 in Bethany, it’s a small village near Jerusalem and now it is separated by the wall that was build in the year 2000.

                              Was there a need at the time for this  school?

Yes they targeted the children who were directly affected by the bad political and economical situation in our country after the war, they targeted the children who were actually roaming in the streets having no future and having no families and families were basically shattered on both sides at that time.

So what is the vision and the mission of the school ?.

Jeel Al Amal, Generation of hope is a social institution for the protection and care of needy and orphan children in whole of Palestine, So the boarding section we have children coming from a very poor backgrounds, remote villages in the west Bank from Ramallah, Bethlehem and all over and we have orphans we have side orphans, we have children coming out of wedlock and do not have families at all, so its basically for children who are abandoned and abused children.

How many boys do you have in the home ?

Well during the school year we have 75 and the number does not stop here because we receive during the summer and through the whole school year children and cases who are being on the streets.

Do you have to give some of these boys counseling when they come into the home because of the situation they have been through. ?

Sure they need counseling they need our patience, they need to see that here they are cared for and they are loved and it takes a huge effort from the specialist from the consultant from the house mothers, supervisors from all of us to try and help the children especially knowing that they come from very difficult backgrounds, some are abused some are badly beaten, some have been on the streets for a couple of years, they have skipped school so they need counseling and we don't have a magic wand in our hands but it takes huge efforts and we see that the children get by in a couple of months, even school things really change them.

Are they both Muslim and Christians together here ?

Jeel al Amal is for children from all over Palestine, you know here Palestine Christians and Muslims are together one hand so we do not differentiate and my mother the founder of the home Alice Sahhar she always used to say whenever she was asked this same question, "In What Language does a child cry"

Because she never looked at a child where he comes from, Ethnic background , religion She wanted to help as long as this child is needy so it didn't matter to her And this we continue doing the same Today.

Have the boys in the home become family together ?

Actually you will be amazed, I have seen myself, I have experienced the love of the children, the older boys, how they care for the little ones, I have been last summer to the sea shore with the children to a picnic and I was amazed to see how the older boys were watching the little ones, they were taking care of them where ever they went, here also when it is time for dinner, how they lay the table how they help the little ones, they supervise so it is more of a homely atmosphere really.

Now you also have a school here, a mixed school of girls and boys is that unique for this area ?.

Actually yes it is because of the majority they tend to separate but we don't want that, they are sitting in the classroom side by side boys and girls and also the workforce here the majority are women so 90 % of the staff working in Jeel Al Amal are woman because we want to empower women to have Jobs also in the society and we don't tend to separate them at all.

What sort of skills do the children learn ?.

Life skills, all kinds of life skills, now we have a program for the children in the boarding section they go to an organization in Bethany, it is sponsored by the French Islamic relief and they go there and learn life skills because it is very important when the children leave Jeel Al Amal that they are empowered to live in the society and to be encouraged and to promote their self esteem to face whatever they need to face after they leave.

What sort of needs do the boys have in the boys home.?

First of all they need love and care, they need our attention they need to feel that we are their family, the family that they have lost, they have never known they need to know that for sure and it really transforms their whole being, we are now working on renovating the boarding section, we have already managed to do that with the dining room and with the kitchen, we are also renovating the boarding section, children have all needs it’s a cycle, well you can't say we are looking after them in terms of food in terms of clothing and overlooking their other needs it’s a cycle, they have to practice their talents, they have to meet other people in their community, they have to go to tournaments outside the home, meet people so it's like a cycle and you can't look 1 and pay attention to the other, so we are very keen on that.

Is it important that the children get a good education here n the home ?

Yes it's very important, The founders of the home, My parents Alice and Basil Sahhar , they believed in Education as the only weapon for the future , to help them for a better future. so this is the only thing that empowers them   being educated and this school by the way is for low income families, So they wanted private education for people who cannot afford to pay for private education and this continued up to this date.

Now education is important and some children will want to go to university, is that very difficult for them here when perhaps they don't have parents or Family.?

Yes actually they have depended on us for their whole life as little children and once they finish their schooling they want to go to universities, we try to help them as much as we can, now they have the spring board to go on and study in the universities, so what we do, we don't have in Jeel al amal reserve much money to fully sponsor them so we reach out for friends for people who want to sponsor education of a boy who finishes his schoolings and he succeeded in the last year of the exams and he wants to go to university, so we have included that in the core elements of the home and people can donate to educate a child to university afterwards so we don't leave them alone at the certain point we try to help them as much as we can, so the majority of the staff also I have to mention are from the children who have finished schooling in Jeel Al Amal, they came here as 3 years old boy and now they are working in Jeel Al Amal, they are from the staff.

Do you have children coming to the school with disability ?

We have children with different kinds of learning disabilities, We have autism, Yes and we try to work with them, with a specialist, with the  consultant and now we are having a project, a building of the 4^th floor, it's going to include a room for children with learning disabilities to try to help them as a first step and integrate them in the classrooms afterwards so this is a problem we face Yes.

Now with the boys in the children's home do you do special things with them over the holidays ?.

Yes during the holidays we have a number of children who do not leave Jeel Al Amal and we are the only organization by the way  who keeps its doors open over summer, because all organizations they close and the children have to find somewhere, I don't know where if they don't have families but they don't stay in the school, Jeel Al Amal NO, we keep the doors open during summer, we have a program, a summer camp where volunteers arrive from UNIPAL, this year we are going to 3 volunteers coming from the UK, we have a program for those children to deviate attention also from the harsh reality that even during summer I was not able to go somewhere or I don't have anybody to go to, you see so a number of activities are implemented like they go swimming, they go hiking, the go for IT workshops, the volunteers  paint the murals on the walls  with the children, so it's an enjoyable kind of thing to do.

Now obviously in time the children will get integrated into society as they get older do they come back and visit ?

Yes they always do because they consider Jeel Al Amal as their home , here they grew up , this is the place that really I mean was caring for them, was loving, they consider it there home, they always come back and last time there was something very touching and taking place here, A boy who has finished from Jeel Al Amal and went to university graduated he has a contract in one of the Arab countries and he came to say goodbye, he was sitting with the children, it was a surprise visit, so everyone was looking and he said "When I was a boy like you, I'm an orphan, I have never known any family and Jeel Al Amal was my home and I wish and pray that each one of you would work hard and fulfill his dream and get to the point where I was" and now he has a doctor's degree and he is signing the contract to travel and work in one of the countries abroad and he came to say goodbye so he gathered all the children around him and it was pretty inspiring because he really gave them you know encouragement and full support you know, they always come back.

How do you raise your finances, does the government pay or do you have to raise all the money here yourself.?

Yes we are a nongovernmental organization  we are private we do not get any government support whatsoever we are totally on our own in getting money to Jeel Al Amal, the salaries of the school are not sponsored we have to look for money to pay them, the boarding section all the needs we source that out on our own and its very very difficult because we reach a point where things are really very very difficult but we depend on more donations from Friends from Churches, in England and in Holland and also from unrestricted funds so it is very difficult sometimes.

Why do you do what you do ?

I started working in 2008 after my mother passed away, she left a huge gap and I was volunteering for a couple of years and this question that you are asking me now has been on my mind ever since when I started working here, why am I going to bare this responsibility when I saw my mother all her life long till the last minute of her life worrying about how to get money and now to get things done in Jeel Al Amal, because we have nothing to depend on, I started volunteering and I found that Jeel Al Amal and the children are really worthwhile in helping, I experience the love that my mom had in her heart for those children and I started developing it and I understood more why my mother did it and I got a vision why I should continue it also.

So when you see a child coming, crying , abused , having no future and you care for him and after a while he gets himself together and he is studying and he is building his future and you see the staff also who are working like one hand in Jeel Al Amal you feel encouraged and you can't but help them, and you would want to do everything in your might just to keep things going so from my own experience its rewarding and it's also worthwhile giving your life for such a worthy cause.

What is your prayer for the children here ?  

Well I pray always and I always say "I pray for peace to prevail", I pray for better days for those children, I pray that God will give us the strength always to continue and that God would send in his angels to help us, help those children and do what is right for them and I pray that God blesses Jeel Al Amal .

Now for people who would maybe like to give to the organization or know more about it from your website, what is your website address.?

Our website is www.jeelalamal.org   and we also have on youtube channel you can just type in Jeel Al Amal movie and you can see the children pretty much sums up Jeel Al Amal in 3 minutes.