Please Help Sponsor A Child In Palestine

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was established in 1991 by concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East.

Child Sponsorship Program

In response to the deepening economic and social crisis in Palestine, the PCRF launched a new program in the first half of 2002 to provide humanitarian assistance to needy children with disabilities, whose families are too poor to provide them the medicine or care that they need. There are currently thousands of sick and injured Arab children in the Middle East suffering from mental or physical handicaps and who are unable to receive the necessary care they need to function normally in society. With the current deterioration of the economic and social situation in Palestine, it has become more and more difficult for poor families to provide these children with the medical care that they badly need. The PCRF's new "Child Sponsorship Program" is designed to provide these sick and injured children support by matching them with donors and sponsors who will help cover the costs of such humanitarian things as medication, therapy, and schooling.

This project is one of the first to give donors the ability to help and witness the progress of an individual child. Each sponsor is given a personal file and photo of the child they are sponsoring, including a medical and social report, as well as quarterly progress reports illustrating how their contribution has helped the child. 100% of the sponsor's funds go directly to the child's care and constant follow-ups by PCRF social workers ensure that the funds are used for the stated humanitarian purposes. We currently have dozens of sick and injured Arab children waiting for a sponsor to enable them to overcome their disabilities. If you are interested in sponsoring a child through our "Child Sponsorship Program" please email us at ThePCRF@aol.com or call (330) 678-2645.

click to go to: • Palestine Children's Relief Fund

Dheisheh Child Sponsorship Program

Shirabe's Report: A new school year started in Palestine on August 31. As the second anniversary of the Intifada approaches, hundreds of thousands of school children and their families throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip are unable to afford back-to-the-school necessities. In recent months, Palestinian economy has rapidly been deteriorating under the prolonged siege, closure, and curfew. Since March, after the Operation Defensive Shields, the repeated Israeli invasions have caused over a half entire Palestinian households to lose their incomes altogether. Over two-thirds of Palestinians are now living below the poverty line (less than US$2/day).

In addition to my daily regular Ibdaa work, I've started to go around the camp to interview families. As many of you may know, the closure has put many people out of work in the last 2 years. The situation got a lot worse lately. Ibdaa has compiled a list of children living in extremely difficult circumstances, and I am putting together their profile that will help us finding sponsors. Many families have absolutely no incomes, and are barely surviving off UNRWA's humanitarian assistance (small cash, basic foodstuff) that is far from sufficient..

..MECA (Middle East Children's Alliance, my employer) has established a program with Ibdaa Cultural Center to provide direct aid to these school children - Dheisheh Child Sponsorship Program. Some of them have medical problems. Some of their homes have been demolished or partially destroyed during the invasions. Many of their parents are dead, sick and/or unemployed for a long time and the families have virtually no incomes. In this program, a sponsor will support one child from Dheisheh every month for one-year period. MECA will put together information and communication channel so that the sponsor will get to know the child and be updated on his/her situation in Dheisheh.

MECA and Ibdaa plan to send $50 / month to each child. If you are unable to afford the full amount, you may sign up for $25 / month and MECA will match you up with another person. MECA is a nonprofit organization and the sponsorship will be tax-deductible.

click to go to: • Dheisheh Child Sponsorship Program

United Palestinian Appeal Child Sponsorship Program

In 1986, UPA began its Child Sponsorship Program to provide humanitarian assistance to children living under hardship conditions in the Palestinian Territories. Continuing Israeli occupation, poverty, and the current situation of conflict all threaten Palestinian children's basic human right to an education. UPA's Sponsorship Program is our most successful program ever, with over 1,392 children having participated. Through UPA, sponsors from around the world give financial support to Palestinian children at many schools, orphanages and other welfare institutions throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and in the refugee camps of Lebanon. In doing so, the dream of a better future can become a reality for so many deserving young people.

It would be difficult to overstate the benefits of sponsorship for the children who participate in our program up to age 16. For example, $150 -- the average annual primary school tuition -- is a costly burden for poor families, accounting for over 10% of their per capita income. UPA sponsorships, which provide a minimum of $300 per year to each child therefor lessening parents' financial burden, inspire the fulfillment of educational dreams and hope for a brighter future.

The cost of sponsoring a Palestinian child is $300 a year, plus a $25 sign-up fee. UPA has a flexible payment schedule, with sponsors paying monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually. Personal checks or major credit cards are preferred. All sponsorship payments go to the child—without any deduction whatsoever after the $25 sign-up fee—through educational institutions in which he or she is enrolled. These institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are highly regarded for high academic standards as well as quality staff. Browse Children's Profiles.

click to go to: • United Palestinian Appeal Child Sponsorship Program

Palestine Children's Welfare Fund

The Palestine Children's Welfare Fund was established by a group of individuals whose goals are to improve the living standards of the children of Palestine in the refugee camps inside Palestine.

The Sponsor A Child Program provides an opportunity to individuals who want to contribute to improving the living standards of Palestinian children.

Ten dollars a month will contribute toward the following services for a child:

Food
Education
Clothing
Medical Services

The money will be put into the child's account established by the Union of Health Workers Committees and the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund through a program that is already in place.

You can contribute online and specify the name of the child you want to sponsor or you can send a money order with the name of the child you want to sponsor and write on the back of it “ For Deposit Only” and send it to Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund. We will send it to Jerusalem with our weekly mail to be deposited in the child’s account. All methods of payments will be verified with a deposit receipt from the bank where the child’s account is established within thirty days. The Holy Land Trust is coordinating this program with us to ensure delivery to the children.

click to go to: • Palestine Children's Welfare Fund

Save The Children: West Bank and Gaza Strip Relief

Save The Children's sponsorship program does not allow selection by country. However, they do perform significant relief and support work in Gaza and the West Bank.

Education is the right of all children and is fundamental to a child's healthy development. It is especially critical in Palestine, with its youthful population and an economy that has a low resource base and heavy dependence on service industries. In Palestine, basic school attendance and literacy rates have been consistently high for boys and girls in different geographical areas and income groups. These achievements, however, are extremely vulnerable to rapid changes in the political environment. The following summarizes and updates a report of the International Save the Children Alliance drawn from information collected in the West Bank and Gaza. It examines the impact of the current violence on children and children's rights as laid out in the Convention of the Rights of the Child, particularly their access to education.

Because it has worked in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for nearly 30 years, Save the Children was able to respond quickly to the special needs of children caught in the current uprising. At the start of the unrest, Save the Children made an immediate distribution of emergency medical supplies to 5 hospitals in the territories. Since then we have done what we always do – address children’s needs for short-term relief while at the same time plan for their long-term recovery.

Over the past four months, that work has included additional medical supplies for the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees and the Medical Services, the operation of ambulance services with the Palestinian Red Crescent, the rehabilitation of schools and teacher training so children have a temporary refuge from the violence as well as creative, productive ways to channel their energies, and the distribution of food and medical supplies to families severely affected by the curfews and blockades.

click here to go to: • Save The Children: West Bank and Gaza Strip Relief

Islamic Relief in Palestine

The last few months have seen the situation in Palestine deteriorate drastically, as many cities and towns were re-occupied and placed under strict curfews. Hundreds of thousands of families are now living under new rules that are leading to unemployment and poverty. Humanitarian groups like Islamic Relief are ready to provide crisis relief but are finding that increasingly their hands are tied due to the restrictions on access and mobility.

Islamic Relief first introduced the sponsorship of orphans in 1986. Since that time over 4000 orphans have been supported. The aim of the project is to help needy orphans worldwide by supplying them with assistance in the form of healthcare, education, nutrition and income.

Why Sponsorship? Millions of children around the world are suffering as a result of poverty. The most vulnerable of these children are orphans. Without education, healthcare or training they are disadvantaged for the rest of their lives.

The Orphan Programme works by linking the sponsor to the orphan and his/her family. Your support will provide the essential items for a better living standard, for the orphan, their family and the community. Islamic Relief creates this link by providing all the logistical support for both the orphan and the sponsor.

Of 3355 orphans supported to date, 124 were from Palestine.

Q Can I specify the childs age, sex and nationality?

A If you would like to specify any of the above we will do our best to meet them. Howerver, we would prefer that you allow us to select a child for you as we have first hand information on which children and which areas need sponsorship the most.

click to go to: • Islamic Relief In Palestine

Global Ministries Child Sponsorship

The program is a ministry of the Global Ministries Child Sponsorship. It offers churches and individuals the opportunity to help change the world one child at a time.

Linda Lawrence is the Administrator who connects people with children, helping institutions provide for their children and meeting needs. If you are interested in sponsoring your own child, contact Linda.

If you have hugs to spare, you, your Sunday School Class, Youth group, or women's Group should consider sponsoring a child through the Common Global Ministries Child Sponsorship.

For More Information about out program fill out the information below and mail it to the address below. Or E-MAIL it to Linda Lawrence at the address below, and see how fast you can be helping a child!

Middle East: Rawdat El-Zuhur: $25 per month - Located in Jerusalem, this center services 500 Arab children through its preschool and elementary classes. Both Christian an Moslem religions are taught at the school.

click to go to: • Global Ministries Child Sponsorship

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation Child Sponsorship

The HCEF Child Sponsorship Program was established in late 1999 with the blessing of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other Christian leaders. Through the Child Sponsorship Program, you have the opportunity to help with the education of a child in the Holy Land. Scholarship aid will be given to a Christian child in your name. While in school, a child is drawn tighter into a Christian community. It means a lot to a child's parents to know that their child has a Champion-In-Christ in America.

Individuals who chose to make a difference in the lives of the Christian children will receive detailed information about the child and family via information from HCEF. Additionally, sponsors will receive cards and letters from the child throughout the school year. The children become real, identifiable people of the sponsors. By supporting the children, the mission of maintaining a Christian presence in the Holy Land is achievable and becomes alive and personable!

It only takes $25 per month or an annual gift of $300 to assure the primary and secondary education of a child. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. Communications in both directions are encouraged and facilitated.

­Sponsorship involves ecumenical application to all Christian denominations.
­Outreach to the poor, children of special needs or with special talents.

Through your generous sponsorship, you provide life-fortifying benefits for the Christians of the Holy Land. The children and their families come to know that they are not alone as they face difficult and often hostile conditions.

Through your sponsorship, the children are taught the skills to survive, excel in life, and to flourish in Christ.

click to go to: • HCEF Child Sponsorship

Interpal Sponsor A Family and Sponsor An Orphan Programs

Sponsor a Family Programme: The focus of this programme is to provide help for the oft forgotten families. They are those whose sole breadwinner is supporting a very large family, who is unemployed or disabled. It is as much our duty to help them, as it is to help the orphans and the widows. Consider the family of Brother Adnan. He is chronically ill, and unable to work. Yet he must try to provide for his wife and 7 children, 4 of whom are severely disabled both physically and mentally. A local social worker in Palestine says, “The sad thing is some of the father say their families would be better off if they were dead. Then people would pity them more.”

Waqf Fund programme: Interpal started the Waqf Fund Programme in May 2000 as part of its efforts to raise more money for on-going Sadaqah Jariyah projects such as the building and maintenance of mosques and other religious sites, schools, orphanages and hospitals, and contributing towards the running costs of local charitable organisations that provide much needed and welcome services to the poor and needy of Palestine.

Sponsor an Orphan Programme: This programme aims to provide a better future for poor and needy Palestinian orphans. With your help these orphans can look towards a brighter future.

click to go to: • Interpal Sponsor A Family / Sponsor An Orphan Programs

Enlighten: Enabling Palestinian Children

Enlighten (Markaz at-Tanwir) gives Palestinian children and young persons the opportunity to develop computer skills and access educational information from the internet in a safe and relaxed environment.

Enlighten was established as a charity in 1999 to promote and facilitate the introduction of computer-aided learning centres in the Palestinian refugee camps of the Middle East.

Enlighten opened its first centre in Bureij camp - Gaza - in January 2000. This centre now operates 7 days a week and provides more than 180 hours of taught child-computer time per week.

click to go to: • Enlighten: Enabling Palestinian Children

Children of Palestine Yahoo! Group

Our purpose in creating this club is to sensitive people on the issue of "Orphan Sponsorship". Palestinian children and others elsewhere are in urgent need of your help. Are you one of those who always ask themselves "What can I do for them?" "How can I help?" Well, dear Sir/Madam, let us tell you that today you and I can offer a lot for those kids.

click to go to: • Children of Palestine Yahoo! E-Mail Group

Photo credits: Photos courtesy Ben Scribner, International Solidarity Movement