MiniActive

Part of the guiding principle of MiniActive is that residents take responsibility for their own environments – neighborhoods, streets, schools.

Cleaning up our streets

As part of this effort, MiniActive has organized several community clean-ups.

Sweeping, collecting

Community cleanup number 2 took place on May 21 in Kufr Aqeb. The main participants – 20 teenage boys from a local school.

Organizing into teams

Many thanks to the school and its staff for their support!

Dividing up the equipment

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program.

Here’s the Facebook post in Arabic:

It’s important for us all to get away and have some fun once and awhile, so that we can set to our goals with recharged batteries when we get home.

Last week, on May 20, we took 54 MiniActive women on a trip up north. They picked cherries.

Picking cherries

They had a picnic.

Group picture!

They went on a boat ride.

Different types of water activiteis

And the highlight – rafting on the Jordan river.

Out on the water

Almost as if we were there along with them…

Yikes! Hope no one falls in!

Here’s the Facebook post in Arabic:

It took months of planning, and then re-planning, but we are proud to announce the completion of the first Arabic-language horticulture therapy course in Jerusalem! The course took place in cooperation with the David Yellin Academic College of Education, as part of our MiniActive program. During the course of the program participants established and cultivated a beautiful garden at the school. Here’s how it looked in the beginning:

Learning Practical Part of Horticulture Therapy

And this is how it looks today (or from March, after a lot of work had been done):

The garden in March

As we posted here, the course began in January of this year. It took place at the Al-Shuruk School for Special Needs in Beit Hanina. Here is everyone a few days ago, on May 25, at the end of the course. Congratulations!

Final picture of graduates

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

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of the MiniActive program.

Put environmental work together with community empowerment in East Jerusalem and what do you get – a MiniActive project!

We described here the recent efforts by local Palestinian girls from East Jerusalem to improve the courtyard of one of the schools in Ras al-Amud, as well as an adjacent garbage receptacle.

New project: developing a new garden for children with cancer

We’ve also described here the first Arabic-language horticulture therapy class that is coming to a close.

Mothers and children helping children with cancer

Now we’re marrying these two initiatives in a joint effort to fix up and renovate a garden for the al-Amal organization that helps children with cancer. There are 25 teenage girls participating, and an equal number of women and their children, both boys and girls.

Mothers, sons and daughters working together

They began in late April, and the project is expected to continue until the end of May.

Work in progress

It looks great so far – we’ll keep you posted on the progress.

We’ve described here how we’ve arranged for the MiniActive women to take tours throughout the country, but it’s also important to see the special things close to home. That’s what we’ve been doing recently, with a number of tours of the Old City. Thus far we’ve planned 3 groups (2 have already gone) and a third will be going soon.

From all quarters in the Old City

In all, about 100 women from the MiniActive network will have gone. They reach all areas of the Old City, mainly through the Ramparts Walk, which encircles the city walls. For some, it was the first time they’d ever been atop the Old City walls, and was a very special experience.

On tour with Anwar guiding

The guide was Dr. Anwar Ben Badis, who also serves as one of our ever-popular instructors in Arabic language. Thank you Anwar for your always-popular tours!

The Old City from a birds eye view

Here’s one of the posts from the MiniActive Facebook page:

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their ongoing support of MiniActive.

Yes, in Beit Hanina, you can now wait for the bus in style.

Renewed bus stop in Beit Hanina

In this neighborhood, as in many Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, residents suffered for a long time from poor infrastructure in general, and specifically, from broken bus stops, many of which did not have benches or seats or backs.

Now you can lean back as well as sit

As we wrote here, MiniActive was recently in contact with the person in charge of bus stops for the Jerusalem Municipality. This led to all the bus stops in the neighboring Shuafat neighborhood being either replaced or repaired. Here’s the our Facebook post:

This past week, it was Beit Hanina’s turn. The contractor in charge of installing and repairing the bus stops had toured the neighborhood with local MiniActive women, and this week, we finally saw new bus stops.

A ticket to ride and a seat to wait

Congratulations! Next scheduled stop – ????? We’ll keep you posted.

MiniActive is affecting women’s lives – and the lives of so many other Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem – in so many ways – from fixing public nuisances, helping the environment, learning Hebrew to better communicate with service providers, baking, exercise, and more. Now, they’re learning first aid.

Learning first aid

There have been first aid courses in the past, and this is an important part of their involvement in improving life in the community. There are currently 25 women in this class.

First lesson

The post from the MiniActive Facebook page in Arabic:

More recently they learned about preventing accidents in the home

The dangers of home accidents

And the beginning of CPR:

Beginning the principles of CPR

Here’s another post from the MiniActive Facebook page:

Did you ever think that a school guard’s hut could look like this?

Guard hut

This is one of many pictures that we can share with you from the new MiniActive Youth project decorating public areas in East Jerusalem. (Click here for more information.)

Plastic bottle planters

From planters made from plastic bottles, to decorative electrical cabinets to painted garbage dumpsters, this group of 17 teenage girls from all over Jerusalem – Jebel Mukaber, Ras al-Amud, Silwan, Issawiya, Beit Hanina, Sur Baher and the Old City – have used recycled objects to make a range of projects. This project seeks to focus on recycling and the environment.

Hard at work

The group’s last meeting was on April 10. Congratulations to all the participants!

We still never tire of these Minions

And here’s the post in Arabic from the MiniActive Facebook page:

We’ve proudly shared here and here the progress that’s being made by the MiniActive women involved in the first-ever Arabic-language horticulture therapy course that we’re operating in cooperation with the David Yellin Academic College of Education.

Horticulture therapy course at Ramat Hanadiv

As the course nears its completion, participants received an extra treat – a trip to Ramat Hanadiv, a large complex of carefully-groomed gardens located between Zichron Ya’akov and Benyamina in the north of the country.

In the gardens

In addition to touring around the beautiful gardens, participants had an opportunity to create their own projects.

Looking at new projects

What fun!

Creating their own designs

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program. Here’s the link from the MiniActive Facebook page in Arabic: