MiniActive

A large part of MiniActive’s activities are to build community – often through language classes (Hebrew, English) or various other types of enrichment. This has proven especially important during the COVID-19 crisis. When it isn’t possible to meet in person, MiniActive has been excellent at moving its enrichment activities online.

Building online community

Members of the 1,000 strong MiniActive network for Palestinian women in  East Jerusalem have been learning Hebrew for the past several years. This year, many of the lessons – at least for now – have moved online. Here’s a post from their Facebook page (in Arabic) about that:

They’ve been learning how to cook and bake:

and

And how to make planters and wall-hangings as well:

Thank you, MiniActive, for maintaining and building community safely, even in these difficult times. And many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

The MiniActive Network of 1,000 Palestinian women has been working on a grassroots level to improve communities and their infrastructure in East Jerusalem since 2012, and in the process, they’ve been strengthening civil society, strengthening women’s place in the community, and building community resistance.

We’ve written several times about how MiniActive has strengthened community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see a few examples here, here, and here.

Over 80 participants on Zoom for an anti-stress workshops

On October 15, 2020 they continued to do so, with an online lectures about how to deal with everyday stresses, especially during current times. She spoke about how to deal with everyone at home, with children who are trying to study remotely, how to reduce stress and keep control of the household without everyone going crazy.

Over 80 women participated in the lecture, and feedback was excellent.  Thank you MiniActive! May we have many more activities that help us get through this period together!

Here’s the post from the MiniActive Facebook page (in Arabic):

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

We’ve written here, here, and here about how the MiniActive network of 1,000 Palestinian women in East Jerusalem is helping to fight this wave of the coronavirus.

Yet another direction their taking is through online testimonials, followed by sincere and honest questions and answers.

First Zoom session with 50 participants

They are doing this through Zoom sessions every few days for women in the network, each time discussing a different aspect of how the coronavirus has affected the lives of different women.

Many participants tuned in to hear about coronavirus in the family first-hand

On August 30, for example, one woman – one of MiniActive’s volunteer regional coordinators – discussed how it was for her and her family to live through the coronavirus. Nearly 50 people attended this Zoom session. Here’s a Facebook post from MiniActive about it:

In a second session, a woman, who accompanies her sick son to tests and treatments at the hospital, described how one should – or should not – act in hospitals and medical centers, especially during the coronavirus crisis. She also spoke about how things many people do – which are not according to the guidelines – serve to spread the disease and make matters much worse. There were some 30 women who participated in this session. Here’s the Facebook post from the MiniActive page regarding that session:

MiniActive plans to continue these sessions, each time focusing on a different aspect. In the near future, for example, the project will feature a doctor to speak about some of the medical aspects. We’ll keep you posted!

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

We wrote here, here, and here about East Jerusalem’s fantastic fight against the coronavirus in the spring of 2020. The Jerusalem Post even wrote about it here.

Unfortunately, the situation today is much worse, with Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem being among the hardest hit in the city. You can read here about what’s going on.

Facebook page where videos were uploaded

Since its establishment in 2012, the MiniActive women have been leading the way in a number of social causes from garbage collection to physical infrastructure in the neighborhoods. Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis they have also been leading the way, disseminating information and helping local needy families. You can read about that here, here and here.

Now, MiniActive women are providing a women’s voice to the fight against coronavirus, in two videos that were made in cooperation with the Forum for East Jerusalem, which was formed to fight the coronavirus in East Jerusalem, together with the Jerusalem Municipality and other bodies.

Here’s one of the videos (in Arabic):

And here’s the other:

Let’s hope that these videos help the efforts to contain the coronavirus in East Jerusalem.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

During this time of great uncertainty, MiniActive Youth continues to provide constructive activities, which help the community and also give the youth something positive to do during the summer break.

Doing constructive activities during summer break

Here, the youth built storage options, worked in the garden, and created their own raised beds.

Good times during summer vacation

They also had a healthy lunch. Yum!

Looks good!

Congratulations to the MiniActive Youth! Here’s the Facebook post:

And more pictures from work a few days before:

Many thanks to the Leichtag Foundation‘s Jerusalem Model for their support of this summertime initiative for youth. And many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

It wasn’t easy to be a young person in East Jerusalem this spring. As COVID-19 hit the region, East Jerusalem Parents Associations took an unprecedented step – they were the first to close schools in early March. And when restrictions were lifted in May, and Jewish schoolchildren returned to school, children in East Jerusalem did not – schools stayed closed until the end of the school year.

A festive day to kick off the summer

So when the month of Ramadan finished (end of June) and July came around, Palestinian children in East Jerusalem were going quite stir crazy. Fortunately, MiniActive youth was there to fill the void, with activities planned in accordance to Ministry of Health restrictions.

Activities kicked off with a special event, replete with clowns, and games, and parachutes and fun.

MiniActive Youth also met to work outside, helping in two different places.

Working outdoors, improving the environment

This past week MiniActive youth also started another environmental project. The curriculum was designed especially to reduce tensions that built up as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

For now, the girls are also able to meet inside

Here’s a post from the MiniActive Facebook page:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Model for their support of this summertime initiative for youth. And many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!

Every year, during the Ramadan holiday, our MiniActive network of Palestinian women in East Jerusalem distributes food packages to needy families during the Ramadan holiday. You can read about their first distribution here.

Organizing food packages for needy single-parent families

But this year, due to the coronavirus crisis, needs were far greater, and many families, especially single mothers, needed extra assistance. So MiniActive organized a second shipment of food packages. Through its network of 1,000 women and through advertisements on the Internet and social media, MiniActive identified 50 families – mainly single parents – that urgently needed food and baby supplied.

Helping those who’ve been left behind

Packages were delivered throughout East Jerusalem, including:

• Kufr Aqeb;
• Anata
• Jebel Mukaber
• Silwan
• Ras el-Amud
• Wad Kadum
• Wadi Joz
• Old City

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their emergency assistance in this project. And many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation and to Natan for their ongoing support of MiniActive!