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21 October 2005, The Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, ARIJ, has been a partner with CARE West Bank and Gaza for the last two years. The partnership began in 2002 when ARIJ was contracted by CARE to assist in a project design. It then became a partner in implementing the SAFES project, “Sustainable Access to Food and Economic Security in Jenin,” funded by the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission. This project, based in Jenin, is improving the food security of nearly 800 Palestinian households through an integrated set of activities designed to increase capacities and skills, strengthen community participation, and provide sustainable livelihoods. Together, CARE and ARIJ are helping to improve the economic conditions of the people in Jenin by helping establish home gardens, building water conservation systems, diversifying crops, providing extension services, and offering training particularly to women. The local participants in this project are living in ten villages that have limited access to the outside world, and municipal services such as water, electricity, and roads, are lacking. ARIJ has recently worked with CARE in the design of a new, food security project, Livelihood Improvement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (LIOPT). LIOPT, funded by AusAid, is a two year project operating in the districts of Jenin and Tubas. ARIJ will manage the agricultural component of the project, provide training and technical support, and contribute significantly to project monitoring and evaluation. ARIJ is a non-profit organization founded in 1990. It is promoting applied research, technology transfer, and self-reliance of the Palestinian people through greater control over natural resources. With more than ten years of experience in applied research in agriculture and the environment in the West Bank and Gaza, today ARIJ is providing up-to-date information on sustainable development and helping the economic recovery of the Palestinian community. ARIJ is developing and adapting technologies and practices, providing technical and scientific knowledge, skills, and facilities needed by the Palestinian people. When looking to the future, Nader Hrimat, Assistant Director General of ARIJ, is hoping that cooperation and partnership with CARE will expand and target more priorities not only in the northern part of the West Bank, but to look also for more locations where the people need help. “So our projects will be always based on sound needs assessments”, according to Hrimat. Together, Hrimat said, we must work on natural resource management such as water and water sources, land use and suitability, planning, and decision support systems. All of that, Hrimat said, will help decision makers in the Palestinian Authority, NGOs, and the private sector to improve food security. The Director General of ARIJ, Dr. Jad Issac believes that together, international humanitarian organizations such as CARE, and Palestinian NGOs such as ARIJ, must work together to maximize the output, serve the beneficiaries, and to make sure that the projects are sustainable. Dr. Issac believes in a process of planning and joint cooperation to determine the priorities together based on needs assessments. The priorities and projects of ARIJ, according to Dr. Issac, are based on communication and feedback from the local village councils, women organizations, experts, and the Palestinian Authority. The medium-term strategy is shared with everybody through meetings and joint workshops. Dr. Issac concluded by saying: “Palestinians aspire for independence and freedom, and look to the international institutions such as CARE to work with them as partners to achieve this, We would like to see our partners make choices that are morally responsible, with a sense of justice to the people they are helping.” |