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Palestinian House of Friendship

The Palestinian House of Friendship (PHF) is a non-profit organization established in 1994 in the city of Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. It is governed by an elected board of trustees.   The goal of the PHF is to invest in the Palestinian individual and encourage an ethics based on democracy, human rights, and a love for the other.

General program and support

PHF has been engaged in a variety of activities that include education in civics and democracy and expressions of local culture.   The targets of these activities are the youth and children of Palestine who have not had the benefit of such enriching and educational experiences because of the stress of their civil society. The activities include workshops, lectures, seminars, concerts and folkloric festivals. These efforts have been supported in part by international bodies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, the National Democracy Institute and the Canadian Embassy, as well as local companies and individual donors. In 1996 PHF coordinated the Palestinian Domestic Monitoring Committee (PDMC) to observe legislative elections and helped recruit over 500 volunteers.

To make a contribution:

To make a tax-deductable contribution to the Palestinian House of Friendship, please make your check out to

ICSEE-PHF

and mail it to

ICSEE

12 Red Barn Road

Wayland MA 01778-1122

Current conditions

Until the recent Intifada began, the PHF was able to raise the funds for most of its operating expenses with paid courses in English and Hebrew.  However, conditions have worsened under the Israeli military occupation as there are now crippling curfews that curtail travel and movement of citizens and goods between villages and the city resulting in economic distress that makes paying for language classes impossible.  Sadly, there have been instances of vandalism during which Israeli soldiers have damaged and removed vital equipment including computers and a camera intensifying financial burdens as well.

The Smiling Faces Summer Camp

The shining center piece of PHF actions, carried out no matter how difficult the conditions, is the Smiling Faces Summer Camp for needy and at-risk children and youth.    It is the children who are suffering the greatest impact on psychological, sociological, economic and educational levels. They are under stress from military incursions and curfews, and suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

PHF believes it must provide positive alternatives for these children.

Smiling Faces Summer Camp targets children and youth who are very poor from families with unemployed parents, families in which the parents are separated, and families whose fathers are in Israeli prisons. The rationale behind the four-week summer camp is to give these children a taste of childhood pleasures, protect them from delinquency and give their families a sense of hope.

The camp serves up to 140 boys and girls from 10 to 14  years old,  Older youths are trained to help run the camp. It is directed by full time professionals, volunteers, a social worker and a psychologist. It is supervised by PHF director, Mohammed Sawalha, who is also a university professor.

Activities include painting, crafts, drama, dance, computer training, visiting local academic and civic institutions and sports. Everything the children do is within the framework of conflict resolution and mediation, assisting the children and youth to build peace and self-respect within themselves and to address their differences productively.

The PHF youth-run Radio Station

PHF has been doing the groundwork to start a youth-run radio station. It received a UNESCO grant for the project, provisional upon getting a license from the Palestinian Authority. Sadly, the factionalism within the PA has complicated this process, in part because PHF refuses to affiliate with any political party..

The PHF 2008 programming

In spite of enormous hardships, the PHF is mounting classes in Palestinian song and dance, crafts and cultural history, and through the classes keeping alive the spirit of nonviolence and democracy.

Please contact the ICSEE if you would like to help the PHF in any way, or have questions.