Palestine has an abundance of volunteer opportunities available to those interested in making a positive difference in the world. These opportunities often involve working with NGOs to improve the everyday lives of Palestinians. One such organization is the Palestinian Center in Hebron, whose mission is to provide Palestinians in the West Bank with the resources necessary to gaining English language proficiency and professional skills. At the Palestinian Center, you will find the support you need for a successful and meaningful volunteer experience, and have the opportunity to engage in the following:
Teaching English
One of the most impactful ways that you can help Palestinians in the West Bank is by volunteering to teach English. Many Palestinians are very interested in learning about other cultures and are eager to travel to foreign countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, to improve their English; however, not all Palestinians have the economic means or freedom of mobility to do so. Thus, the Palestinian Center brings foreigners from around the world to Hebron to fill this gap. Volunteering to teach English in Palestine provides Palestinians with a myriad of benefits. They will not only have the opportunity to practice and become proficient in a foreign language; they will simultaneously develop their professional skills and open valuable career opportunities for themselves.
Studying Arabic
You can also help Palestinians by learning to speak Arabic—specifically the Shami Arabic dialect spoken across the Levant region, which includes Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Learning conversational Shami Arabic will allow you to break down cultural and language barriers with Palestinians both in the West Bank and abroad. As part of its variety of volunteering opportunity offerings, the Palestinian Center provides its volunteers with high-quality Arabic lessons with native-speaking teachers several times per week. Studying Shami Arabic in the West Bank will allow you to speak to the citizens of Palestine in their mother tongue, engage with your host family on a deeper level, and better understand Palestinian history, culture, and the current situation in the region. Furthermore, due to the Arab diaspora, there are millions of Arab immigrants and people of Arab ancestry living in non-Arab countries worldwide. Learning Arabic will allow you to interact with these Arab communities, become a more informed and involved global citizen, and facilitate cross-cultural understanding between your home culture and the Arab world.
Hosting Workshops in Different Fields of Interest
While volunteering at the Palestinian Center, you will also have the opportunity to host a variety of workshops for Palestinians in a wide range of disciplines. These workshops are geared at the professional development of West Bank citizens and have focused on topics including, but not limited to: academic writing, employability skills, writing resumes/CVs and cover letters, teaching, computer skills, music, art, and photography. In addition, if you have an idea for a workshop or way of increasing your impact in Palestine, the staff is extremely accommodating and willing to work with volunteers to facilitate and make passion projects a reality.
Spreading Awareness About Palestinian Culture
The final way that you can help Palestinians through volunteering is by spreading all of the knowledge you acquire of Palestinian culture to your friends, family, and acquaintances once you have returned to your home country. While international media outlets devote much airtime to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, few people outside of the region truly understand the complexities of the conflict or the reality of daily life in Palestine. Talking about your experience volunteering in Palestine will not only bring a voice to an often misrepresented and marginalized people; it will recognize their humanity.
Spending your time in Palestine will also provide Palestinians an eye into your world—offering them a more global perspective. Lastly, though Palestine is under occupation by Israeli forces, it is an area with a rich cultural heritage and history, and a hospitality that is without equal anywhere else in the world. Volunteering in the West Bank will allow you to experience this hospitality and culture first hand, and further facilitate cross-cultural understanding both at home and abroad.