Lasting impact: life through a portal
One of the first things we had to consider
when arriving was how we were going to make a sustainable and valuable
contribution to YDD. Ten weeks is not a long time at all, and we were aware of
this as we planned out our schedule and timeframe of goals and objectives. One
thing we were really surprised about was that YDD did not have a website. To
me, this was really quite remarkable – it was a reminder that we were far from
the UK, where everyone and everything has a powerful online presence. YDD is a
well established very active group in Jerusalem, and until we arrived its only
outreach was through word of mouth and a paper leaflet distributed across
communities in Jerusalem.
We quickly agreed that we would dedicate a
chunk of time towards building and creating an effective and informative
website, which would allow accessibility to so many more people – both locally
and internationally. At first this task seemed very daunting (I have never
built a website before and I am by no means a ‘technical whizzkid’!) and seemed
a bit dull, which was a personal challenge to overcome. Trying to figure out
‘coding’ and ‘domain names’ when I was struggling to even upload pictures was
at times extremely frustrating, but once I got the hang of it, it became much
more enjoyable. I also found that the more I got to know about YDD and my
colleagues here, the more determined I was to ensure the organisation and its
incredibly important work should be widely promoted by designing a quality and
interesting website.
In order to avoid a boring and text heavy
website, we spent several weeks going out into Jerusalem and meeting some of
the individuals and organisations that have benefitted from YDD’s programmes.
We gathered individual testimonies, stories and took pictures and videos, all
to make the website more eye-catching and attention grabbing. We reflected the
stark statistics about the difficult situation affecting the youth here in
Jerusalem in some info-graphics to help visualise the reality and inject a bit
of colour into the site.
Palestine has become very easy to disengage
from if you rely on the international
media, but when you learn of real individuals and their experiences, I think it
becomes much easier to relate and empathise. The personality of YDD and its beneficiaries
was something I was particularly focused on throughout the entire process.Some
of these trips into the community were very moving. We met a young man names
Eyad who had benefited from one of YDD economic programmes. He is the same age
as me, but our lives couldn’t be more different. He is a full time butcher, and
thanks to YDD training him and helping him secure equipment and premises, he is
now the main breadwinner of the family. His father is elderly and sick and his
only elder brother is in jail –one of Palestine’s 5820 political prisoners – and
so Eyad is single handedly supporting the family. Not only this, but he is
working hard enough to put his five sisters through university; when asked
about this he only smiles and says it is his main priority so that they can
have a better future and not struggle as he had to. When I asked about his
hopes and dreams for his future he replied ‘My dreams are not for myself – they are all about my family.
I hope for my father to get better and my brother to be released from prison
and to return to us. I hope that my sisters and brothers can continue their
education, and if all of this happens then I can be happy. ‘
I was blown away by his humble nature and dedicated work
ethic, and continue to be so with almost every story and person I have met
through YDD. These kinds of stories are
the absolute essence of what makes YDD such a vital part of Jerusalem’s youth
work and I have aimed to capture this true essence of YDD, as we share the
stories of Palestinians around Jerusalem.
Lift off!
To launch our website, and the new brochure we designed
alongside it, we decided YDD deserved a launch event. It was primarily a
‘website launch’ but also a general celebration of YDD’s work in and around
Jerusalem. We booked a hall, organised the food and invited local organisations
and representatives from UNICEF, the UN and Save the Children. We put on a
short presentation about YDD and the importance of a website and then held a
question and answer session with the staff. We were all a bit nervous – not
least because of the language barrier that follows us around everywhere here –
but it was a big success!
Although at the start of my ten weeks, building a website
seemed more like a chore than an exciting contribution, I am so excited and
proud to have created such an integral tool for an organisation such as YDD in
2015. The website it looking great, and hopefully will assist with reaching
more young Jerusalemites who can benefit from our work. Having a social media
presence, particularly in a place like Palestine where service delivery and
available help is so often disrupted as a result of the occupation, is
invaluable. Now, anyone anywhere can
look YDD up and find out all about their incredible dedication to improving the
lives of young people around Jerusalem.
http://youthdevelopmentdepartment.com
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