Ramallah – In spite of their life from their day-to-day lives in the villages of Froush, Beit Djan, Jiftlik and Badralah, Fadia, Jaheda and Samar say their knowledge and experience about raising sheep and chickens increased tenfold after they enrolled in the one-day training offered by MIFTAH. The training was part of the organization’s “Empowerment of Women through grants for income-generating projects” and it taught the women about how to raise and handle the animals in a healthy manner.
The project was launched at the start of this year according to Hanan Saeed, MIFTAH’s coordinator, and targets these northern Jordan Valley villages with a total of 20 women beneficiaries.
Fadia Abu Jaish [Um Shadi] is the mother of four children and is part of the program along with five other women from her village. Together they started a project to raise 30 heads of sheep while her husband continues his work as a farmer.
Um Shadi says her experience in raising sheep is mostly from the environment in which she grew up. However, the information she received from the workshop was a different story. It gave her the right information she needed to take care of her sheep and to raise them properly, even educating her on sicknesses and ways to treat them, including immunizations. Um Shadi was so impressed she said she would jump at the opportunity to participate in more training, if offered. She also said she hoped that MIFTAH would provide even more support to Beit Djan to help develop these projects further.
Jaheda Masaaed, or “Um Mohammed” from Jiftlik couldn’t agree more. Um Mohammed is married with five children. Her husband is unemployed after being injured in a work accident in an Israeli factory. She says MIFTAH’s training gave her information they did not have before, including the different types of illnesses that sheep could contract. “We even got the chance to ask questions to a veterinarian and an agricultural engineer about the sicknesses our sheep could get and how to treat them,” she said. “We also found out that some the information we previously had was wrong.”
Samar Sawafteh, unlike her colleagues, is a single woman from the village of Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley. She and four other women from Bardala participated in MIFTAH’s training from which she said they learned a lot about raising sheep. “We had basic information about sheep and their care, mostly from our day to day experiences,” Samar said. “But the training gave us so much more and our experience and knowledge vastly expanded.” She thanked MIFTAH for its support, which she said was unlike any other type of support from the other organizations they had encountered over the past 11 years.
Samar also said she would be happy to participate in other training courses given by MIFTAH in the future. She expressed hope that those in charge of the program, “Empowerment of women through grants for income-generating projects” would station a vet in the area on a permanent basis who would do periodic rounds to check on their herds.
According to MIFTAH coordinator Hanan Saeed, the agricultural engineer already does this, making rounds to the beneficiaries in the targeted areas. Saeed said the goal of the training was to raise awareness among the beneficiaries about the most prominent illnesses that strike sheep and chickens, in addition to how to manage farms administratively and financially. The training course was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, which mandated a vet and an agricultural engineer as part of MIFTAH’s trainings, aimed at the empowerment and capacity-building of beneficiaries, both administratively and economically.
MIFTAH was granted a Special Consultative Status with the United Nations' ECOSOC
Date posted: September 28, 2020
By MIFTAH
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy- MIFTAH was granted a special consultative status to work with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), through which MIFTAH seeks to contribute to promoting the Palestinian narrative and international advocacy based on international legitimacy and United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.
The ECOSOC is the principal organ that coordinates the economic, social, environmental and related work of the 14 United Nations specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. It serves as the central forum for discussing international economic, and social and environmental issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.
ECOSOC provides NGOs the opportunity to be heard by a truly global audience and contribute to its agenda. ECOSOC has been the main entry point into the UN system for NGOs. ECOSOC remains the only main UN body with a formal framework for NGO participation
What is Consultative Status?
Consultative Status is an accreditation framework that benefits both the United Nations and the NGOs. Consultative arrangements are to be made, on the one hand, for the purpose of enabling the Council or one of its bodies to secure expert information or advice from organizations having special competence in the subjects for which consultative arrangements are made, and, on the other hand, to enable international, regional, sub-regional and national organizations that represent important elements of public opinion to express their views according to ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, part II, paragraph 20.
NGOs with Consultative Status can work with the United Nations Secretariat, programmes, funds and agencies in various ways, including in consultation with Member States. They can also contribute to a number of activities including information dissemination, awareness raising, development education, policy advocacy, joint operational projects, participation in intergovernmental processes and in the contribution of services and technical expertise
An NGO with consultative status can attend international conferences and events, make written and oral statements at these events, organize side events, enter United Nations premises, and have opportunities to network and lobby.
MIFTAH considers obtaining this Consultative Status timely and paramount to begin organizing its participation through the Council's sessions during 2021.
Signing ceremony for new cooperation agreement between MIFTAH and the Norwegian Representative Office
Date posted: November 28, 2019
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – MIFTAH and the Norwegian Representative Office to the PA signed on Monday, November 26 a new one-year cooperation agreement in a ceremony held in Ramallah.
Head of the Board of Directors, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, signed on behalf of MIFTAH while Norwegian representative, Ms. Hilde Haralstad signed on behalf of the Norwegian Representative Office.
During her speech at the signing, Dr. Ashrawi said, "For the past 18 years the Norwegian Representative Office has been one of the oldest and most significant of MIFTAH's supporters in its efforts towards promoting the principles of democracy and good governance in Palestine”. She also said this support was a continuation of the crucial work at this stage in supporting and empowering young leaders and women as change-makers, saying it gives this sector the ability to influence and change, especially in light of the difficult circumstances and challenges of the current political stage. Ashrawi also reiterated the importance of collective efforts in a coordinated and holistic manner between the various parties, which inevitably lead to change.
Dr. Ashrawi reaffirmed the Norwegian support for the Palestinian cause, expressing hope that Norway and other likeminded countries continue to stand on the right side of human rights and good governance and recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom, justice and statehood. She concluded her speech by expressing sadness for Ms. Haralstad's departure from Palestine, where she has served since 2016.
Meanwhile, Ms. Haralstad confirmed Norway's continued support for Palestine in its quest for statehood and human rights. She said she was proud to have partnered with an institution that supports the principles of democracy and good governance and which works for women's and youth issues such as MIFTAH. She also stressed on the important role Palestinian civil society institutions play in supporting the Women's Peace and Security agenda and expressed her sadness for leaving Palestine, saying she would continue to support the Palestinian cause.
The signing was attended by women's and rights institutions in addition to MIFTAH board members, representatives from the General Union of Palestinian Women and representatives from other MIFTAH funders and partners.
