Join Us in November
View Our October Newsletter with Images Here
(or read on for a text-only version)
Dear Healing to Hope Community,
Thank you for your continued commitment to our movement to provide Palestinian-led, community-based and arts-focused mental health support to children, youth, and caregivers throughout the West Bank. As the humanitarian crisis continues in Gaza, the West Bank also experiences the ongoing effects of occupation. This year’s olive harvests are subject to settler violence on a much larger scale than previous years, and land grabs continue on the outskirts of Bethlehem and beyond. New electronic metal gates installed throughout Bethlehem now separate Palestinian communities from each other with just the press of a button.
We are continually reminded that a ceasefire is not justice. And, as Anar Executive Director Rami Khader recently shared in a Chicago gathering, “You can’t have healing without justice.” This is why Anar’s unique and transformative work centers healing that keeps immediate community needs in mind, alongside the larger struggle for justice. Its approach is Palestinian-led, collaborative, artistic, and rooted in the belief that communities are best served at this moment by “self-help hubs” that support children, youth, and caregivers, both now and eventually longterm. Despite significant obstacles, Anar’s staff is still reaching as many people as possible on the ground everyday.
We welcome you to hear directly from some of these community members themselves. Please gather with us on November 12 at 11am CST / 12pm EST / 7pm Palestine for Through Their Eyes: Stories of Hope from Palestine, a unique online event in which you will have the chance to listen to stories from a facilitator, a caregiver, and a child supported by Anar in a conversation led by Anar’s Psychosocial Support Unit Coordinator Dara Rafeedie.
Read on for more information and registration details for this event, as well as updates on Anar’s work and Rami’s recent visit to Washington, DC and Chicago. We are making strong progress on our fundraising goal thanks to your support, and we’re grateful for all you’re doing to help us meet our remaining $45,000 goal this year.
In solidarity,
Sarah Myers, Healing to Hope ED
Join Us on November 12
Please join us on Wednesday, November 12 at 11am CST / 12pm EST / 7pm Palestine for Through Their Eyes: Stories of Hope from Palestine, a unique online event in which you will have the chance to:
Hear first-person stories from participants in Anar's programs (a caregiver, a child, and a facilitator) in a conversation led by Anar’s Psychosocial Support Unit Coordinator Dara Rafeedie.
Learn more about the work on the ground in Palestine and recent developments in Anar’s programming.
Ask questions of Anar and Healing to Hope staff, as well as our participant guests.
Help us meet our $45,000 fundraising goal to support Palestinian children, youth, and caregivers.
Highlights from DC & Chicago
We’re grateful that Anar Executive Director Rami Khader was able to join us for a short visit to Washington, DC and Chicago a few weeks ago and connect with new supporters and old friends. Many thanks to the Eastern Panhandle T.E.A.M. (Together Educating and Advocating for Peace in the Middle East) and co-sponsors for organizing such meaningful events in their “Heal Hearts, Heal Minds, Heal Lives” weekend, as well as our friends at the ELCA in DC for a day of meetings with individuals and organizations committed to the Palestinian cause. Thanks too to all our Chicago supporters, especially the hosts of our first official house party, where new friends gathered for the first time to hear the story of Anar.
Reflections from Supporters in Chicago
“Wow! Thanks for bringing Rami into my orbit. What honesty he exudes. I'm still thinking about, ‘there will never be healing because there is no justice. You can't have healing without justice.’ And yet, they show up, and they persist, and they reduce the harm and trauma to whatever extent they can and build resilience.”
“I especially appreciated learning about how Anar trains, supports and cares for its staff on the front lines every day.”
“Healing to Hope is clearly something meaningful and transformative. You can just feel much heart and soul has gone into it. 💛 It was moving to witness the dedication and passion of Anar and Sarah and the people involved.”
“Thanks so much for including me in that. As hard as [Rami’s] message was, being in his inspiring presence with inspiring other people was good for my mental health.”
“I just wanted to thank you for including us in your house party last night. SUCH important work. We are very modest in our ability to give much monetary support to anything, but we talked last night and are making a sizable (for us) donation today and will include Healing to Hope in our considerations for how we give monthly in 2026.”
Anar’s Latest Work
Anar continues its work throughout the West Bank in Hebron, Nablus, Talkarm, and various communities in and around Bethlehem. You can find some of September’s highlights below:
Even in the face of increased movement restrictions and checkpoints, Anar provides meaningful mental health and psychosocial support throughout the Bethlehem area, including Dar Salah, Rahal Valley, Dheisheh Camp, and SIRA School, where participants are empowered to meet challenges and strengthen community resilience through authentic recovery methods and self-care.
Last month, two initiatives were launched as part of Anar’s Shababeek Program. “Brave Breaks” provides a safe space for young men to engage with mental health concepts, and “Safe Space” aims to strengthen the idea of safety for children, adolescents, and their parents through awareness-building sessions.
Weekly Makan sessions focused on creative play and artistic engagement for children continue at Anar. For the first time, additional special sessions for young children aged 4-6 were launched last month.
Anar’s community-based approach allows it to serve a large number of sites in deep ways by collaborating with and supporting community members and leaders:
Throughout the Hebron Governorate, Anar offers ongoing community-based psychosocial support for children and caregivers in Al-Shuyukh, Al-Arroub and Al-Fawwar Camps, Safa, Beit Ummar, Wadi Al-Samen, Wadi Al-Haryeh, Dura, and the Old City.
In Tulkarm Governorate, the "Hand in Hand, We Build Hope" initiative provides psychological, eductional, and health support for children and their families in Bal’a, Nur Shams Camp, Shufa, and Tulkarm City.
In the Nablus area, in collaboration with various community organizations, women’s associations, and kindergartens, Anar offers interventions in Awarta, the Old and New Askar refugee camps, Balata camp, and the Old City.
