Hebron - the story of the woman who jumped over the wall of poverty with a step of change

Hebron - Maannews- "Don't give me a fish.. Rather, teach me how to fish." It is a well-known wisdom based on an advisory development principle, and not just a consumption system. Many success stories were built on its foundations for families who got out from below the poverty line and became productive and active in their society. After reaching a certain degree of material independence.

S.H., in her thirties, is a mother of seven children. She and her family live in the town of Beit Ula in Hebron. She was among the families of the Family Empowerment Program implemented by SOS Children's Villages Palestine. This gave her an opportunity to be part of a collective grant given to the Women's Club, Beit Ula, during a project : "Strengthening community responses in response to the economic and social situation of the partner families in the Family Empowerment Program in Hebron Governorate" which is implemented by Children's Villages (SOS) in partnership with the Rural Women Development Association, funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and (CISU), so its step was This marked a turning point in the course of her life and the fate of her family.
The journey of change began with a single step.

“S.H” says that she and her family used to live before 2006 in a deplorable economic condition, which deprived her and her children of the most basic necessities of life, especially since her husband was exhausted by illness and prevented him from continuing to work, adding: “I could not be satisfied with staying at the bottom, I was Believing that change begins with a step, so I had to take it. Indeed, I left my house and went with a friend of mine to the Women’s Club Beit first, and there I started the journey of change and started working in the field of sewing and embroidery. With the help of the club, I was getting paid for this work. from money".

All she had to do was open the first doors of change, and go out armed with the will to knock on the doors of hope. Indeed, the doors began to open wide in front of her, when she joined the "Family Empowerment" program, through which she received a ration and financial grant that provided some of her family's needs, and it did not take long. Until the good people decided to help her by building a house to house her family, who lived in one room and lacked the simplest necessities of a decent life.

“There is no despair with life, and there is no life with despair,” says S.H., who got the most important opportunity in her life, which was to establish her own project during the year 2016, which was actually done through the project “Strengthening Community Response in Response to the Economic and Social Situation of Partner Families in The Family Empowerment Program, implemented by the Rural Women's Development Association, in partnership with SOS Children's Villages.

Seasonal kitchen, sewing and embroidery... Sources of income for the family

The project consisted of a seasonal kitchen opened in a wide corner of the Bayt Ula women’s club building, through which she was able to manufacture many food products and sell them to people and those who requested from local institutions, in cooperation with her children and husband, who provided her with an element of support, support and encouragement in continuing her project, according to what she said. H. confirmed.

She explained: "We are earning money from the sweat of our brows, we no longer need material aid from charitable people. The money we earn from our project has provided my children with most of their needs, but I was convinced that the most important step is investing money and developing and developing the project, and I actually succeeded in that and expanded my work between production." food, sewing and embroidery, all of which was with the help and support of my family.”

The benefit was not limited to material matters. Through the project, three of S.H.'s children received remedial lessons under the supervision of the "SOS", which clearly reflected positively on their academic level, in addition to the fact that the children tried to transfer the educational benefit to the father and mother. By teaching them some of the basics of writing, the mother says, smiling: "My husband writes his name and signs as well."

The success story did not end with the end of the grant period, as "S.H" is determined to continue her journey, after she has become today a partner in the family's decisions, and is able to sit with everyone and speak in a fluent tongue that carries a lot of cultural awareness, which she obtained through many workshops, courses and meetings Training provided by the institutions implementing the project.
Following the grant, S.H. meets her family after a separation of about 30 years

The last thing S.H. expected was that her participation in the project and development work would be a ticket to travel to Jordan to visit and meet her family and siblings after a separation of nearly 30 years, when she spoke in the Hebron governorate hall about her success story and her intention to save money from what she earns for travel. This dream was like the voice that echoed in the ears of the good people who ensured that all her travel needs were provided, and she had that after all this waiting period.

"S.H" and through the network of social and institutional relations that she succeeded in weaving during her participation in women's activities in the town, she was able, with the help of the women's club, to secure a job for her husband in the municipality of Beit Ula, commensurate with his physical abilities and taking into account the privacy of his suffering from some diseases, which improved his life. The income level of the family, whose children, after many years, own a computer, which is the simplest need of the children of this age.

S.H.'s talk was not limited to her experience and success story, which, as she says, achieved a kind of financial independence for her, during which she learned to take responsibility, cooperate and solve problems. She had the opportunity to get to know many personalities, change her way of thinking and raise her level of ambition. Rather, the matter was beyond That is when she sent a message while smiling after she tore the image of sadness that had been painted on her face over the past years. Her message was to the poor families to work on developing and investing what they get and not getting used to consumption without thinking about the coming days, and to search for the establishment of their independent project that represents a faucet. Income that is fed by the good of all family members.