Reflections on another successful partnership with YDD

As our time working at the Youth Development Department (YDD) draws towards a close, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the experience of being a part of this hard-working organisation. 

YDD and us

YDD runs multiple projects, working both in the city of Jerusalem itself, as well as its suburbs, and even some of the outlying villages, now cut off from the city by the Separation Wall. This involves a wide variety of work.  YDD operates is as an umbrella organisation, helping to co-ordinate the efforts of many community based organisations in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

As the name would imply, the NGO focuses on enhancing the lives of young people in Jerusalem, both in terms of economic development and also lifestyle, focusing on such issues as drug awareness and recreational activities to benefit young people and their families. It is a recognition of the very considerable impact of the Occupation on young people and the obstacles it puts in the way of them fulfilling their potential.  

We arrived with the objective of completing the website for YDD. Quite a daunting task for three people (two from the UK, and the Palestinian volunteer we work with) without much knowledge of the organisation, or website design, to undertake!

Fortunately, we were met and continue to experience the incredible hospitality of the Palestinian people. We have been welcomed into YDD well, and every one of the busy staff are more than happy to answer our questions about their work as we try to build the website. One thing we have definitely learnt, however, is that if you want results going and speaking to someone directly is the only guarantee. Emails don’t seem to have the same priority they would in a UK office! We have also been treated exceptionally generously when it comes to food, with frequent breakfasts for the whole office taking place. On the odd occasion we tried saying that we weren’t hungry, to no real effect. However, the food is so good that it’s basically impossible to say no.

YDD and young Jerusalemites

The phenomenal work YDD do for the community of Jerusalem has been inspiring. Some of the stories we’ve gathered for our website are simply incredible, and just serve as small cases of what YDD accomplishes.

In the course of production of two videos to help promote the organisation, we have met and interviewed two young people who both have had strong barriers put in the way of their education. 

The inspiring stores of Sondos and Thaer

Sondos, a nineteen year old girl, did manage to complete high school, but was forced to drop out of technical college because of a difficult economic situation for her family. 

One of YDD’s projects is to help young people in such situations, by working with local experts to provide vocational training. As such, Sondos is well on her way to becoming a trained chef.   

The other, a young man called Thaer, has had an even more difficult time, although his story is far from unique among the youth of Jerusalem. He was arrested by the Israeli police, charged with ‘throwing stones’, probably the most common charge given to young people, although many are completely innocent. Because of this, he was put in prison for two months, which meant that he missed his exams and was forced to drop out of school, or retake the whole year. 

Thaer is hard at work to become a mechanic. Both are very active among similarly enthusiastic classes, with all participants clearly wanting an opportunity to improve their situation. 

On top of the training, YDD also works with the local Chamber of Commerce to provide work experience placements for these young people on completion of their course.

Not forgetting Eyad

One of the young men we met early on also provides another inspiring story. His family situation is exceptionally challenging, having eight siblings, as well as a very sick father. Because his older brother is a political prisoner, twenty-one year old Eyad is left as the sole provider for the family. When we met him, he was hard at work in a butcher’s shop in the Old City of Jerusalem, working happily alongside an older man, showing him the business. But instead of being an employee, Eyad  is in fact the owner. YDD reached out to him, having heard about his situation, and helped him shape his business, including the purchase of both property and equipment. The smiling young man told us that he is especially happy to have this aid, because with his new income he hopes to send all of his sisters through university and help them to find a better future too. And Eyad is not the only one. One hundred and eighty-five other Jerusalemites have had their entrepreneurial dreams realised through the aid of YDD. If all are passing along the benefits to themselves, as this young man is, it means great things for the city in general.

Cracks in the Wall

YDD even reaches out beyond the city. When the separation wall was built, it cut off the village of Beit Doqu from Jerusalem, where villagers always came to sell their produce. In order to help boost the income of the village, to make up for this economic loss, this city based organisation has an agricultural project. This includes building structures to help breed animals, as well as setting up full dairy production, and an even a hydroponic plant to allow large amounts of animal feed to be grown in a limited area. And on top of all this, the project focuses on women, helping to promote gender equality even in rural areas.

Our time here has felt all too brief to get fully involved in every project run by YDD, but even in the weeks we’ve had here, it has been possible to see how great an impact this organisation has on the local community, and how much it means to some of the people whose lives it has transformed. In just under a week, we will be launching the new YDD website, where you can keep track of the excellent work done by the team there.