Sunday 26 February 2012

Outline timetable

Friday 16th March - Palestinians arrive and all participants travel to residential centre

Saturday 17th March - Induction and then 'British day' - skills sharing organised by the British group

Sunday 18th March - 'Palestinian day' - organised by the Palestinian group

Monday 19th March - Visit to the sea and return to London

Tuesday 20th March - London visits in groups. Some to Camden universities and others in Hackney; information shortly on public events in the evening

Wednesday 21st March - London visits in groups. Some to Camden Council and community centres and others in Tower Hamlets and Newham; ice-skating in the evening

Thursday 22nd March - Animated film workshop; then time with buddies

Friday 23rd March - W0rkshop first thing then tourism day

Saturday 24th March - Presentations, skills-sharing and evening benefit

Sunday 25th March - Evaluation meeting and Palestinian visitors return.


Saturday 25 February 2012

Book'n'bake sale

Many thanks for your efforts to all of you who

  • baked cakes
  • gave books
  • drove things round
  • set up and 'womanned' the stall
  • came and bought things

to make money for the women's visit.

Delicious cakes :)

The only thing you forgot was to take a photo for the blog. Want to draw us one??

Friday 24 February 2012

Hiyam's planning visit Day 4


Today we went to explore the residential place in the New Forest - I think you're going to have a good time there. Also a pic of the River Thames in the evening.




Thursday 23 February 2012

Hiyam's planning visit Day 3


This was a really busy day! A very messy office (but lots of work got done); a meeting with the student union presidents and international officer at the Institute of Education;a meeting with some of the participants; and Hiyam and one of the huge trees in Russell Square.


Wednesday 22 February 2012

Hiyam's planning visit Day 2

Here's a picture of people at another women's links meeting in Camden, with Hiyam, today.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Hiyam's planning visit Day 1


Great to see Hiyam in London and these pictures show that it didn't take long for her to start skills-sharing (great makloubeh, thank you!). Pics on Hampstead Heath + in my kitchen and at the CADFA meeting this evening. She says the temperature in London and in Palestine is the same.... really?! Nandita

Thursday 16 February 2012

Meeting of the Palestinian group



This was at the meeting at Dar Assadaqa, Abu Dis, today. I heard that it was very difficult for people from outside Abu Dis to travel in as there was a terrible accident that completely blocked the main road between Ramallah and Abu Dis.

Above, some of the young women coming... I can't say who you all are yet, but soon will know you all - nice :)

Below, with Dr Fadwa,Hiyam and Nadia.


Tuesday 14 February 2012

Some more of us in London, planning the visit...


Some more of us in London - this was a meeting to plan the visit, yesterday evening. All of us send greetings to all of you for your meeting on Thursday, and look forward to meeting Hiyam next week.

Monday 13 February 2012

Welcoming the young women participants...Part 2!

Here are the remaining participants coming to London in March:


Nadia Aburaida is a graduate from Abu Dis/ Jerusalem
I'm volunteer with CADFA , I've joined Friendship House since 2006 , I've been to London in 2007 it was the first visit women group to England with CADFA so i'm pleased to visit London again in 2012 .I'm looking forward to seeing my friends in London !!

Nawal Shaheen is a graduate from Al-Sheikh Saeed /Jerusalem:

"I've just finished my BA in business , I hope to find job and work in a bank . I'm very pleased that I'll visit London to tell the people there about our life in Palestine under the occupation. When I have free time I try to cook various Palestinian dishes , I like reading novels and chatting with people from different cultures."


Fatmeh Badran is from the village of Beit Surik in Jerusalem
"I'm a fourth year student at Al-Quds Open University. I study financial and banking science as my major and accounting as my minor. I'm so excited to participate in the exchange of culture because it's first time that I'll visit London and I would like to have new skills from this experience. I hope to apply for a masters degree in Economics in the future!!
I'm looking forward to seeing all of you."
Bissan Shuaiby is a student at the Al Quds University and is from the city of Ramallah:

"I'm second year student at Al-Quds university. I study English Language and Literature as my major and Media as my minor. I would like to share our life and our experience as Palestinian women and I would like to prove that as women and Palestinian women we are capable to speak out about our lives and what we are going through, and I'm going to share our stories that we used to hear from our parents about the occupation and how it started. I want to speak for every woman and I want the whole world to hear their voice and what they are trying to tell them.
Also, I love poetry and I love analysing poems, I love stories no matter what they are and I like to figure out the main point and discuss it. I'm always ready for any kind of discussion! It's my first visit to England but I went 4 years ago to Belgium for cultural exchange so I'm excited to do it again in London. I'm really looking forward to meeting and seeing you all !!"
Samah Fayed is a student from the Jenin refugee camp in Jenin City

'I'm a 3rd year student. I study Nursing at the Arab American University in Jenin. I'm pleased to share this experience to exchange culture and skills with British young women. I hope to get my PhD in Nursing in the future.

I lived many stories of the invasion of Jenin refugee camp in 2002. I've been to Italy,France,Syria , Lebanon and it'll be the first time to London. I'm looking forward to seeing you!"

I can also say...we are all very excited and looking forward to meeting all the young women!!

Please do keep the dates mentioned on the blog in your diary and show your support by coming to our fundraisers and getting involved with the visit.


Arrangements for the visit

Dear Palestinian visitors

I think you will be happy to know that during your visit you are invited to meet people from the Palestinian Delegation in London :)

You will also be welcomed to a meeting at Camden Council one morning... Some of you will visit schools, community centres, universities and be part of several skills-sharing events...

It is getting closer!


Saturday 11 February 2012

For UK friends - Help with the women's visit...

Dear CADFA members and friends

** Next women's links meeting is on TUESDAY at 6pm at Kentish Town Community Centre, 25 Greenwood Place NW5 **

The CADFA Women's Links group is working hard on organising a visit of Palestinian women to Britain in mid-March. We have had a women's visit on or around International Women's Day every year since 2006, and this year the visit focuses on young women from across the West Bank. They are coming on in a visit part-funded by Youth in Action, with a focus on sharing skills as well as life stories and discussions of women, change, Palestine and human rights.

These are great visits! We hope you will meet the women visitors and there will be many opportunities to meet them. Right now please put thse dates in your diary: the evening of 20th March and all day on on Saturday 24th March

Now we also need your help. Fundraising is a big priority at the moment, as the visit will cost thousands of pounds and Youth in Action money will only go some of the way.

CADFA has big financial problems when we take on this sort of project and we do not manage to get the match-funding before it starts - we absolutely have to this time. See below for things coming up - we hope that you can join in or support these initiatives!

Please note our fundraising page...... http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1001930&pageId=162738

PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN, BIG OR SMALL, TO HELP – Thank you.

Fundraising RAFFLE with an amazing first prize, see

http://www.camdenabudis.net/docs/Fundraising%20Raffle%20for%20Palestinian%20Women.pdf

Tickets £1, book of five £5 – Will you order some books and buy and sell some?


On Tuesday 21st February at 7pm we will provide refreshments (you can have a full meal) at our CADFA open meeting, details to follow.

Book n bake sale on Saturday 25th February – venue to be decided – but we would like Your home-made cakes Your old books in good condition Your help to run a stall

Sponsored walk on Sunday 4th March joining the women’s centres in Camden –– approx 6 miles, most scenic routes chosen. Will you join in and get sponsors? And or will you sponsor us?

Would you, your organisation or your union branch etc help by making a donation towards the women’s visit?

Please note our fundraising page...... http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1001930&pageId=162738

and our email address: contact@camdenabudis.net

Friday 10 February 2012

HURRAY!! WE HAVE THE TICKETS NOW!!

The visit is getting closer...

Hiyam is coming to London for a planning visit on 20th Feb...

The main visit will be between 15th and 25th March...

So much looking forward to meeting you all!

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Welcoming the young women participants....!

The women coming on the visit all have interesting insights into life in Palestine as well as great skills and knowledge to share!

Here are five of the great participants in their own words....

Saida Kurdieh is a third year student studying at Al Quds University:

"I study English Literature as a major and Gender Studies as a minor. I live in Jerusalem- Beit Hanina. My hobbies are swimming, drawing and painting, reading stories and novels. I'm interested in photography, making sweets and unfamiliar foods, poetry, and mythologies. This is the first time for me to travel, I'm so excited and happy for this trip and I would like to visit everything in London. I hope to finish my bachelors degree and continue to a masters degree in translation, also I dream to travel the world to see the whole world around me and to meet new people."


Isra'a Hinde is from Beit Sahour and a third year student at Al-Quds:

"I am majoring in International Law and Human Rights, my minor is Urban Studies. I love to read a lot, and sometimes I write small things that come to my mind. I love football and cooking but am not good at both of them, but am good at Dabkah and embroidering (Palestinian embroidery). I’m a very optimistic person so I have big dreams, I’m working hard for them and I’m sure inshallah that one day I will fulfil them. One of my dreams is that I want to be a Palestinian Ambassador, the first woman from Bethlehem in this high, powerful position, that through it, I will try to represent the Palestinian women. This is the first time for me to travel, and I can't imagine that when I will travel for the first time I will go to London. What do I want to visit in London? Or what is interesting in London? Hard question, I want to visit every place in London. What is interesting in London! Everything is interesting in London for me, I really love the old, original cities, the ones with great history and London is one of the biggest examples for that; I remember when my friends and I used to talk about traveling, the first thing we used to say "London baby"."

Hanin Yacoup is from Beit Jala, Bethlehem and also a third year student at Al-Quds:

"I study Human Rights and International Law as my major and Urban Studies as my minor at Al-Quds Bard college. I got so excited when I first heard about this trip, because by just traveling to another place to represent the Palestinian women is a proof in itself that we are not bounded by the walls or any other boundaries, we are not any more living in a bubble as many might think of us, it is our responsibility now to express what our mothers and grandmothers wanted to say, we should be the voice of the silent women.
One of my best things to do is to read books and to write stories or poems about different stuff. And this is one of the things that I’m going to do there, to have and tell real stories that happened with me facing the brutal occupation. I once wrote about my dreams and the first thing that came to my mind was to have a successful role within the refugees and the women organizations. Actually I've never visited any of the European countries, but I went to Egypt and Jordan two times. I think it will be different to visit a place like London to find yourself in a different culture and within a new people it seems to be difficult to the first glance, but this is the best way to discover yourself and your abilities."


Aisheh Hassan Firawe is a graduate who lives in the Old City, in Jerusalem.

"I graduated from Al-quds University ,studied social services, I work at the Saraya center for community services with literature children program aged 8-15 in addition to the skills of democracy and rights of child.
My hobbies are reading ,Palestinian Dabke ,cooking pastry-making and embroidery .
The most important of my dreams is the existence of youth-consciousness in the old city of Jerusalem under the difficult situations that children live,and also to raise awareness of women in certain matters which consist with the social conditions in Jerusalem.
This will be my second participation in the exchange of cultures, the first was when I was involved with the children for the exchange of culture between Palestine and France ,but now is the exchange of culture between British and Palestinian young women.
One of the main places that I would like to visit in England are the museums as every museum has a special character between culture and art."

Haya Allabadi is a third year student at Al-Quds and is from Abu Dis.

"I study Human rights and international law as a major and media studies as a minor. I would like to represent my country Palestine in London to tell the people about our difficult life under the occupation and to exchange culture between Palestinian and British young women . It is my honor to be one of the participating women to share in this experience.
I've been to many countries like Egypt ,Bulgaria ,USA and London for one time when I was 9 years old .I like drawing ,arts and making films ,I'm so excited to visit London again ,I'm looking forward to seeing you soon to share skills!"

We are excited to have such amazing women coming to visit and work with us...and we will have more from the other five participants also!

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Planning your visit


This is some of the women's links group in the CADFA office in Kentish Town London (and also a picture of some CADFA things on sale). Our next plan for raising money for the visit is a Book'n'bake sale (books and cakes) later in February.

Old skills, new skills...Objectives of the project


· To enable young women from Britain and Palestine learn about each other’s country, culture and in particular compare their lives as women

· To allow them to look at the importance of human rights and relate this to the rights of women

· To allow them to share their skills and learn new ones

· To make material together for a website about the skills of young women

Saturday 4 February 2012

Raising money for the women's visit


Some of the money for the visit comes from Youth in Action (European Union) but we have to raise a lot of it ourselves. This is one way - a lot of people cooked really nice food and others came to enjoy it... Maybe not as many people as expected because of the SNOW that came to London tonight... but thank you very very much to all those great cooks and to the people who arranged it!

Getting ready for the women's visit

This is a picture of some of the young women coming to Britain on the women's visit in March 2012. The picture was taken when they went to Ramallah to have their fingerprints taken for the British visa - a L O N G process - but we think they'll have their passports back in time to travel!
Altogether there will be... Hiyam Mousa from the Saraya Centre in the Old City of Jerusalem coming for the planning visit but not for the main visit, and Dr Fadwa Labadi from the Insan Centre for Gender Studies coming with ten young women from all over the West Bank... so 11 or 12 (but only 11 at once).