The Middle East Program

Cherish: Child Rehabilitation Initiative for Safety and Hope (2003-2008)

In the arena of the increasingly violent and turbulent Middle East, Palestinian and Israeli children are at direct risk of physical and emotional harm. The Child Rehabilitation Initiative for Safety and Hope (CHERISH) was conceived to ease the present realities of Palestinian and Israeli children by helping them regain their confidence, their ability to function in daily life, and their hope for the future. This multidisciplinary project focuses on psychological and social rehabilitation and addresses two target groups - the children and their families, and the professional community. CHERISH seeks to develop community-based activities that address unmet needs among Palestinian and Israeli children while creating opportunities for cooperation within an environment of co-existence. CHERISH activities interact at different levels to provide a critical mass of skilled professionals at the community level and to maximize resources. These are critically important given the widespread exposure to traumatic events in both societies, and the fact that many children and families already suffer from psychosocial consequences of trauma.

CHERISH is a partnership between the Israel Center for Treatment of Psychotrauma of Herzog Hospital; the Center for Development in Primary Health Care at Al Quds University; and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) through its local branches: JDC-Israel, the Myers-JDC Brookdale Institute, and Ashalim. It is supported by the US State Department Conflict Management and Mitigation Program, the EU Partnership for Peace Program, and the One-to-One Children's Fund (UK).

The cooperation inherent in the project benefits both the professionals and the societies in which they live, through opening avenues of communication among Palestinian and Israeli professionals; delivering concrete services that fulfill the common needs of divided societies; and improving knowledge and skills through professional development and research components.

Visit the Cherish website.

ECHOS: Empowering Communities in Home Safety (2006-present)

Thanks to a start-up grant of $100,000 from the Goldman Fund, the ECHOS initiative was launched in January 2006 to develop culturally appropriate community-based responses to the problem of unintentional injuries in both Israeli and Palestinian societies.

ECHOS is currently working to create an infrastructure of Palestinian health educators. This endeavor includes the development of culturally relevant educational materials, and training 20 health educators in home safety. Data on home accidents has been collected through partner organizations and is being analyzed to inform future project directions. In addition, a health promotions brochure is being developed, in order to further educate the community.

JDC's partners in this initiative are: Patient's Friends Society-Jerusalem (PFS), Beterem - National Center for Children's Safety and Health, Israel (Beterem), and the Jerusalem Princess Basma Center (JPBC).