Program areas at MECA
Humanitarian aidsince meca was founded in 1988, we have sent or delivered more than 32 million dollars in aid to children in palestine, iraq, and lebanon to alleviate the suffering caused by war, sanctions, and occupation. We deliver food parcels, warm winter clothes, medical equipment and supplies, as well as provide clothes, books, toys, and school supplies.in fy 2022-2023 meca:-made grants to youth vision society, future association for development & environment to provide food parcels to families living in poverty in gaza-made a grant to ard el insan to treat malnutrition in children under 5 in gaza-made grants to youth vision society, future association for development and environment, al-fajr palestinian youth association, palestinian association for development and heritage protection and and musadder association to purchase and distribute warm Children's clothes, plastic sheeting for broken windows, hot meals during winter flooding for families living in poverty in gaza-made grants to palestinian association for development & heritage, future association for development and environment, al-fajr palestinian youth association to provide healthy meals to children in kindergartens in gaza to combat malnutrition-made grants to youth vision society and future association for development & environment to purchase and distribute backpacks to children in gaza-made grants to palestinian women's humanitarian organization to distribute warm winter clothes, oil for heaters, and food parcels to palestinian and syrian refugee families in lebanon. -made grants to the land defense coalition to plant trees in palestine and to renovate caves to make homes and schools for communities in masafer yatta threatened with home demolitions-contracted with waed abbas, dr. mona el-farra, wafaa el-derawi, rand wahsh, and ali wihaidi to oversee our aid work in palestine.community income projectsmeca supports income generation projects to help children and families in the Middle east.in fy 2022-2023 meca: purchased crafts from palestinian artisans and cooperatives to provide income for families and to raise funds for meca's projects made a grant to gaza urban agriculture platform for supporting women's agripeneurs with technical and financial support made grants dalia association and the land defense coalition to supportive cooperative agricultural projects in the west bank
Education and actionmeca works to build greater understanding of the lives of children in the Middle East and to inspire people in the us to action through a range of educational and cultural programs.in fy 2022-2023 meca: presented at conferences, panel discussions, and university events about children in the Middle East. Led educational workshops for teachers on how to integrate lessons about palestinian children into their classrooms. Organized virtual educational events with meca staff as well as speakers and artists to present on current events in the Middle East. Printed and mailed educational newsletters made grants to dalia association, the culture and free thought association, youth vision society, palestine women's humanitarian organization, roots center for the arts, shoruq organization, and britain palestine media centre for educational and cultural programming in palestine including film festivals, youth media platforms, and theatre productions contracted with experts to oversee our educational work in the us and palestine
Support for Children's projectsmeca has long-term partnerships with several grassroots organizations in palestine and lebanon that address Children's basic needs and offer them opportunities to play, learn, and envision a better future. We provide financial support and professional assistance for their programs, responding to requests for what is needed in each of their communities.in fy 2022-2023 meca: made grants to the freedom theatre in jenin refugee camp for general operating expenses, institutional strengthening, children and youth programming and their multimedia unit. Made grants to madaa silwan creative center for their Children's library named after edward said including programming on creative writing and storytelling and for a lawyer, psychologist, and academic tutoring for children who have been arrested or faced obstacles such as home demolition or school closures. Made grants to community training center for crisis management for training of youth leaders at community organizations and psychological first aid for 600 children made grants to youth vision society for two branches of the edward said library in gaza made grants to shoruq organization in dheisheh refugee camp to organize dance and music activities and a free summer camp for children, run a multimedia center where children and youth learn to use audio and video recording for their music, stories and interviews with elders, and cover their general operating expenses. Made a grant to al zawahra women's society center to run the school cafeteria and provide healthy food to 400 children in a bethlehem village and to run a free summer camp. Made a grant to beit lahia youth association to complete a playground and cycling track for children in beit lahia village made grants to the engineering commune and land defense coalition for design and construction of a bike path and family park in farkha village made grants to al jalil association and palestinian women's humanitarian organization for informal schools, field trips, and human rights workshops for more than 250 children who are refugees from syria living in lebanon and can't attend local public schools made grants to riwaq center for architecture for the spaces for social change fund to build playgrounds in palestinian villages made grants to al-amal institute, never stop dreaming association, and rural women's association for afterschool tutoring projects for orphans and children in refugee camps and remote areas in the west bank and gaza made grants to 10 organizations for summer camps and 3 organizations for winter camps for girls and women made a grant to baladna association for arab youth to organize children and youth activities in their center in nazareth made grants to dalia association for education and cultural projects for children and youth made a grant to the palestine writing workshop towards running costs for their new workshop and meeting space the maia project:the maia project to provide clean water to children in gaza began at the request of schoolchildren in gaza. The units are locally manufactured and our partner in the project, the palestinian association for development and heritage protection, receives the funds and oversees the work along with meca staff.in fy 2022-2023 meca: installed 6 new water purification units to provide safe, clean water to children in gaza installed solar panels to operate 3 water purification units made repairs and payments on a maintenance contracts for water purification units built in past years organized educational and art activities related to water rights in gaza schools contracted with an environmental engineer to conduct regular monitoring of the water quality and oversee the repairs and maintenance on all the units we have installed in schools and preschools across gaza.
University aidin addition to supporting pre-schools, kindergartens, libraries and other educational programs in the west bank and gaza, meca provides financial assistance to young palestinian university students. Our scholarship funds enable talented and ambitious high school graduates to obtain degrees and the skills to make important contributions to their communities and their country.in fy 2022-2023 meca provided partial or full scholarships for 150 university students studying at ten universities in the west bank and gaza strip through the elly jaensch memorial scholarship fund, the mary bisharat memorial scholarship, the tree of life scholarship fund, the ramzy halaby education fund, and the katrina and beatrice halaby scholarship for palestinian women.