Near East Foundation - Poor Palestinian Families Get the Feast Day They Deserve

The third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy, rainy and cold, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of Near East Foundation staff, assisted by young volunteers, determined to see that the poorest of the poor had a decent feast day observance. West Bank villages benefiting were Asira, Yasid, Byat Imrin, Talluza, Al-Bathan and Ijnesniya.

Some 960 families-widows, orphans, unemployed, those with special needs-received meat packages along with a "Happy Eid" card and the good wishes of the Near East Foundation Consortium supporting integrated development in their villages. For Sa'ed Mashaki, a young boy from Yasid whose unemployed father had not been able to buy meat for many feasts past-this was a real family celebration. The food distribution was made possible by Near East Foundation and its partners.

Recipient families were identified with assistance from village councils in the six communities and coordination from the regional Zakat Committee, responsible for assisting the poorest residents in Asira and 15 surrounding villages. Because of the meat distribution, and despite limited resources coupled with the intense needs of the area, the Zakat Committeee in turn was able to assist an additional 700 families in the villages of Sabistiya, Bazariya, Al-Naqoura, Nisf Jebel, Bourqa and Deir Sharaf.

Head of the Zakat regional committee, Yassin Abdel-Rahim, commented: "The efforts of the Near East Foundation and its partners to help the poorest of the poor on special occasions makes the approach of the consortium special in comparison to others we are familiar with." He hoped the project will expand beyond the six villages currently involved. For his part, Asira Mayor Assad Sawlmah emphasized the importance of the high visibility of this project for both residents of the cluster as well as visitors.

That point was echoed by a resident of Al-Bathan village, Mohammed Salahat, who said the meat distribution strengthened the trust and the bond his community has for the NEF Consortium and their field office staff. Elderly widow Um Mohammed Yassin expressed her wish that such help would continue and expand into other areas of her difficult daily life-and not just on feast days. She added she prays for all contributors to the program.