Reduce poverty in Palestine

Bido, Jerusalem Governorate, West Bank – In the presence of Mr. David Harden, USAID Deputy Mission Director, Mr. Muhammad Khaled, Jerusalem Governorate Representative for Bido, and Ms. Lana Abu Hijleh CHF International Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza, Bido village celebrated the opening of the women’s center located on a newly constructed floor at the Village Council building in downtown Bido.

As part of the celebration, Bido Women’s Association organized a holiday crafts fair along with women from neighboring communities. The fair will run for two days at the new facility and will feature traditional Palestinian handicrafts and homemade food items for sale.
The new center was constructed as part of the Emergency Jobs Program (EJP), implemented by CHF International. The center will serve as a new facility for the Bido Women’s Association and will be used for hosting the association’s various activities, meetings and community events.

Bido Women’s Association, established in 2005, supports activities for women from Bido and surrounding communities, including courses in hairdressing, sewing, knitting, traditional crafts production, computer skills and aerobics. The center also provides counseling for victims of domestic violence and preparation courses for high school students studying for University entrance examinations.

The project will serve around 1,550 women from Bido and the neighboring communities and their families. During the three months of construction, the project created 1,180 working days and provided job opportunities for 64 workers.

Complimentary to the project, and as part of the ceremony, the Bido Village Council signed an agreement with Creative Associates International, with funding from the U.S. State Department, to provide furnishings for the new center.

EJP alleviates humanitarian and short-term unemployment problems, while laying the foundations for a more sustainable and robust economic development, through labor-intensive community-managed methods for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of small-scale infrastructure. Over the life of the three-year program, EJP aims to improve the quality of life for at least one million Palestinians in over one hundred communities in the West Bank through construction of approximately one hundred and fifty small-scale infrastructure projects.

Thank you for your support that has made this center possible. We hope you are as proud of it as we are and we look forward to any comments or suggestions from our donors.