Our Association
Founder & Executive Director Reem Abu Jaber
Awarded France's National Order of Merit in 2011, the
Insignia of Officer, for achievements and dedication to children’s
cultural and educational development in the Gaza Strip.
More than 20 years of experience in senior
education-with focus on non-formal-management including planning, monitoring
& evaluation, early childhood approach development, psychosocial support
interventions for traumatized children, strategic fundraising in international
development organizations in the Gaza Strip and a proven track record of
accomplishment in institutional building and management in conflict and
less-privileged areas, team building, management of developmental projects in
Palestine, establishing and developing children’s
cultural centers & friendly spaces including libraries, and design &
management of family cultural programs.
Reem founded Nawa for Culture and Arts Association in
2014, and under her supervision, NAWA was awarded the Gaza Award – Taawon in
2017: Falak and Abdel-Kareem Al Shawa Award for Community Organizations for
Gaza 2017. Statement of the Award Jury: “…The
project is an inspiring model for restoring the historical building “Al Khidr Monastery – 1435 years” and rehabilitating it
to be a library for children. The Monastery joins Christianity and Islam
together in the same place, and this enhances the feeling of identity,
belonging, tolerance, and accepting others whole-heartedly; we sorely need this
in our society…”.
HUMANS, THE LAND, AND SOCIETY
Unfortunately, Palestinians do not have the luxury of
not carrying the burden of their cause and their land - Palestine. Today,
Palestinians live in a very complicated state where they are robbed of their
rights to the land and homeland, and over the decades, they have made
significant sacrifices to continue defending the Palestinian identity in order
to pass on this legacy to younger generations. All of this occurs in the midst
of challenging circumstances that include confronting the Israeli occupation
and its oppressive practices, continuous human rights violations, declining
Arab and international support, in addition to the Palestinian-Palestinian
conflict and the danger of losing Jerusalem as well as the continued blockade
of the Gaza Strip which has endured for years, and the sharp decline or total
collapse of services provided to the Palestinian people such as education,
health, the economy and other key aspects of life. In light of this situation,
NAWA cannot plan future interventions without considering the bitter
Palestinian reality.
NAWA believes there is an urgent need to link the direction
of its strategic plan interventions for the years 2022-2026 to the people,
land, and society. These strategic interventions focus on enabling
beneficiaries including children, young adults, and youth so they can achieve
their objectives by improving lifelong learning capabilities, inclusive and
innovative learning of 21st-century skills as well as necessary technical
skills through inclusive education (both formal and non-informal) and culture
which includes access to information and reading, arts, Palestinian heritage,
life skills, and ethics. In order for this effort to bear fruit, it is
necessary to engage both parents and educators to fine-tune their skills and
open new horizons to enable them to provide the necessary support for the
growth and education of their children and to support young adults, and youth
in their steps towards a better future for themselves and their community.
Without a doubt, this effort supports and strongly for that matter, building
self-confidence which encourages children, young adults, and youth to take
important and bold decisions to determine their future.
Building our Palestinian society begins with
rebuilding a free, confident, educated, and cultured Palestinian individual
that realizes that his/her learning and development is an advantage to society
as a whole – a society that desperately needs them - and they work tirelessly
to achieve personal benefits. While working on this effort, he/she also
realizes that these are serious steps on the path to developing and building
their society.
We dream of a free, independent Palestinian person
that is aware of his/her national and human rights; a person that is educated,
thinks innovatively, is confident of his/herself, holds a vision for the
future, possesses skills and tools for self-learning, and applies these skills
on a daily basis, utilizes their resources rationally, overcomes difficulties
and crises, and achieves their dreams with passion and strength. It is only
this person that shall reclaim their rights to the land and homeland...
Palestine.
Reem Abu Jaber,
Founder & Executive Director
2022
