Community Reinvention: Children’s Right to Education in the West Bank

• In Event: Child Poverty, Rights, and Policies: Perspectives From Five National Contexts

Abstract

Purpose
This paper shares findings from a case study analyzing a Palestinian community’s ability to reinvent itself to address children’s right to education. It further analyzes the contradictory roles of NGOs and the need for local sourcing of strategies addressing poverty, children’s education and sustainability and collaborative project designs.

Theoretical Framework
Since the 1980s the Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been instrumental in spearheading the effort to minimize the effect of poverty on children through the establishment of educational and community development programs. During this political era unemployment and poverty were high due to the damaging consequences of the Israeli occupation and educational programs were closed. The women sought jobs outside the home and became breadwinners, while the NGOs filled the vacuum of child care and education (Christina, 2006). The NGO commitment to child care continued even after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. The Palestinian Authority depends heavily on external funding to support educational institutions and social welfare programs. This dependence makes it difficult to address the educational needs of communities living in poverty due to agenda associated with funding that might not address the local concern and needs (Nicolai, 2007).

Methods and Data Sources
This research draws from a case study of a collaborative experience of Not To Forget, a local NGO established in Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank, Palestine with a hybrid (local, international) NGO A Child’s Cup Full. The aim of this partnership is to establish an economic unit in which the profit will serve twofold purposes: 1) to empower women by providing job opportunities that minimize poverty in the community, and 2) to fund educational services for the community. The analysis of this case study would help in understanding the steps needed to empower the local communities in addressing education in communities living in poverty.

Results
The findings revealed that poverty and lack of resources were obstacles in providing care and education of children; however, communities are able to reinvent opportunities to address children’s needs in ways that build on local funds of knowledge. NGOs have a role in shaping reality by not only focusing on addressing immediate needs of poverty but also creating conditions that will affect the community as a whole in sustainable ways.

Scholarly significance
This case study is significant because it shows how partnerships between local and international NGOs can reflect community strengths and commitments to alleviate poverty and address children’s needs. To change the poverty discourse the NGOs strategies must consider how child poverty intersects with women’s empowerment. This contributes to a more nuanced implementation of children’s rights to education and well-being.

Author

• Janette Habashi, University of Oklahoma