Sabeel-Kairos Christmas Appeal for Palestine

Be part of creating jobs, livelihoods and hope in Palestine this Christmas!

This year we invite our members, supporters and campaigners to join us in supporting the vital work of Bethlehem Bible College through their charitable arm, the Shepherd Society. The Shepherd Society runs many programmes in the West Bank and Gaza including medical aid, food parcels, job creation schemes, humanitarian relief, and microfinance projects.

This year we asked our partner Kairos Palestine what they would like us to raise money for in our Christmas Appeal. Despite the amazing advocacy work that they do both internationally, and with the local Christian community, they were very clear that any funds that we raise should be used to support practical initiatives that are trying to alleviate some of the suffering in Palestinian communities at this difficult time, and recommended the Shepherd Society as a local organisation doing this vital work.

In particular, this Christmas, we would like to invite you to support a programme, started in 2023, that the Shepherd Society set up to try and combat the increasing economic decline in the West Bank, and the large numbers of those now unemployed and struggling, including those in the small but vital Christian community.

Background information:

Coinciding with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Palestinian cities and villages have been cut off from one another due to the blockade imposed by Israelis through checkpoints, cement blocks, iron gates, and the threat of settler attacks, resulting in a near-complete commercial standstill and severe restrictions on movement. Since Bethlehem is known as a tourism-dependent economy, many businesses are now closed or have to lay off workers due to the immediate cessation of tourism. Thousands of day laborers working in Israel have lost their income as entrance to Israel is no longer possible, and many working in other cities are not able to reach their jobs anymore. This has had a catastrophic impact on the West Bank economy with many families left without any income, high unemployment, and struggling to pay for their basic needs.

What your donation will support:

The Shepherd Society proposed the “Job Creation Programme: Rebuilding Careers” beginning in 2023 to address these challenges. This program aims to support Christian community, including recent graduates, unemployed individuals impacted by the war (especially bread winners), and to stimulate the local economy. The program has been tremendously successful assisting more than 180 families in 2023 and 2024.

Case study:

Anwar was born in 1988. He is married, with two children. Lian is 3 years old and Rayan is 5 months old. His wife is a teacher’s assistant. Since he was a child, Anwar has loved catering and baking. He makes delicious cakes, as you can see in the picture! Anwar took many courses in catering and baking, especially working with sweets. He worked at a sweet shop in Bethlehem called Handal, but it didn’t provide enough payment for him to support his family, so he moved to a job in Jerusalem. A year ago, when the war broke out, Anwar lost his job. As a Palestinian he was forbidden to access work in Jerusalem anymore. Awar says ‘we all thought it would be a short period, but unfortunately it went beyond what we imagined’.

Anwar approached the Shepherd Society asking for the opportunity to show his excellent skills in making cakes. The Shepherd Society have a partner organisation who started a bakery. Making bread is their mainstream market, but they thought it would be worth a try to employ Anwar to make cakes and other sweet treats. He was hired for three months in the Job creation programme. When the three months were finished, the leadership of the bakery were impressed with Anwar’s work, but they could not hire him because of their financial circumstances. They asked us to renew his contract and they increased his work hours and paid a symbolic amount to encourage him.

Since then Anwar has impressed them so much that they have agreed that when the three months are finished, he will be hired full-time. Let us pray that Anwar is able to continue to do what he loves, and that this is a lasting change for him and his family.

Costs:

Over the Christmas period the Shepherd Society is aiming to raise £50,000 to support 40 new trainees in the New Year, providing them with 3-month placements in local businesses, with the aim that, like Anwar, they are given permanent employment at the end of the placement. We would love to help them reach this target, and are aiming to match our appeal last year and raise £10,000.

Subsidising the salary of a trainee in a local business tends to cost around £400/month. This is what the money we raise would go towards supporting. As partners in this, our contributions will help to light a candle in the darkness and give Palestinian Christians both hope and practical support this season. Please give generously!

Donate