Featured Program June 2008 - Ruwwad  

Ruwwad - Youth Volunteers for Community Assistance

Palestinian youth are known to be educated and open to learn; however, they lack real work experience and exposure. The restriction of movement within the West Bank has limited youth’s perceived potential in life. Also, the family hierarchy in traditional Palestinian culture has thwarted entrepreneurial and proactive thinking among youth. In response, Ruwwad has been a pioneer in presenting the service-learning concept in the Palestinian cultural context. This approach has allowed youth to provide services to their communities; and build their teamwork, critical thinking, entrepreneurial and leadership skills.          

Ruwwad and its nationally branded volunteer body, the Ruwwad Youth Corps, have succeeded in empowering thousands of youth. Through the “30/30” leadership training methodology, youth from across the West Bank have been empowered to lead their own community initiatives. The “30/30” program, which trains 30 youth over 30-day periods, involves conducting an assessment of community needs and then presenting a plan for addressing those needs through community service projects.  Youth with well-developed plans receive a small grant from Ruwwad to carry out their projects.  Past initiatives have included:

1. Breast cancer awareness campaigns,                 
2. A medical week for needy patients in Jenin,
3. A campaign to clean Gaza beaches,
4. A campaign to help orphans in Rafah;
5. Tolerance summer camps in Bethlehem,
6. A Jericho farmers’ festival to support farmers and encourage the younger generation to get involved in agriculture,             
7.  Media training for youth in Bethlehem to help them express their ideas and challenges through short documentaries,              
8. A clean up campaign for schools and public parks across the West Bank,             
9. A traveling theater program                
10. A DVD about Palestinian Culture           
11. Sport competitions               
12. An anti-smoking campaign                
13. Electoral education campaigns                 
14. Democracy day celebrations

In 2007, Ruwwad empowered more than 1,000 young Palestinian men and women between the ages of 14 and 30. Despite the project’s limited resources, Ruwwad achieved tangible results among the youth and communities it aims to serve: 45 core leaders and 1,000+ youth volunteers carried out close to 20 service-learning activities in over 140 Palestinian communities. 2007 leadership surveys given to a sample of 25 youth leaders on entry into the RYC—and again after three months of involvement—show that on average, youth feel their task planning and positive communication skills have improved by 13% and 17%, respectively, from baseline levels. Other leadership and community service abilities have been similarly enhanced. Meanwhile, beneficiaries who took part in activities like the RYC’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign reported an 80% satisfaction rate with the services provided through the activity. Similar satisfaction levels with Ruwwad programming were reported during close to 20 community focus groups across the West Bank, when local beneficiaries were asked to give feedback on RYC aid activities.

These successes among youth and community beneficiaries are attributable to a dedicated team, a philosophy that “youth are assets, not problems,” a focus on peer-to-peer youth programming, and an innate ability to respond quickly to USAID Mission requests.  Ruwwad’s RYC leaders have also emerged as individual role models for their peers, by empowering youth around them to take an active part in solving local community challenges. These efforts have helped engage more than 5,000 youth as participants in Ruwwad activities in 2007, and have prompted many participants to join the RYC as full-fledged members afterward. 

The Ruwwad team believes that its achievements can be leveraged to respond to the new positive momentum created as a result of the 2007 Annapolis peace talks. We believe the political, economic and security sectors of society must work together in order for the peace process to move forward—and, more importantly, that the common denominator among these sectors is youth: National census data shows that 70% of Palestinians are youth below the age of 35. The Ruwwad team believes that empowering and engaging these youth in positive activities is central to the success of any long-term peace agreement. Ruwwad believes that youth are capable of legitimizing and supporting any moderate Palestinian government if they are respected and empowered themselves.
                               
Though its work to date, Ruwwad has observed that young Palestinians can be active shapers of their country’s future—however, they need concrete opportunities to contribute to national development. USAID’s new proposed plan to build the capacity of the Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sport (MOYS), and to create Ministry-supervised Professional Development and Resource Centers for young people represents a timely, crucial response to this challenge: It offers clear mechanisms for young Palestinians to gain the tools they need to help their communities and themselves. Ruwwad is eager to participate in the US government’s efforts to strengthen the MOYS, and to this effect it has already begun activities to support the new USAID vision for a stronger Ministry and PDRCs: In late 2007, project staff have been helping the Ministry to select and assess the needs of the three likely PDRC sites (including the “twin” Nablus sites). Our team conducted a half-day roundtable with more than 40 local youth club members and staff, and solicited ideas and input about the new partnership initiative. Ruwwad and the MOYS have also formed a working group that meets weekly to lay out the details of the proposed initiative, and to prepare for rapid resource mobilization once the initiative is launched.

Moving forward, Ruwwad will continue these and other activities, in an active effort to support the Mission’s drive to launch the PDRCs and activate youth programming at these centers/affiliated clubs. The new Ruwwad program will increase opportunities for young Palestinian leaders to serve their communities through grassroots youth-led initiatives. At the same time, it will build the capacity of the MOYS and PDRCs to enhance youth beneficiaries’ skills in the areas of: livelihood, leadership, and civic engagement, and to increase youth participation in recreational and cultural activities. These dynamic new areas of focus will help Ruwwad and USAID achieve large-scale impact among Palestinian youth and communities, creating a wave of positive social change across the West Bank. The anticipated impact of this program is captured in the tables below, which display the anticipated number of beneficiaries, as well as Ruwwad’s strategic approach to reaching these youth.