An-Najah‘s Community Service Centre’s Housing Programme has been continuing its noble work in providing decent housing for poor families that suffer bad living conditions, in cooperation with the local communities.  

The family of (N.M), from a village east of Nablus, was helped by the programme, in cooperation with the local community, by the extension of the family home, providing an additional room. Previously the family has been living in one room. They were also able to renovate the kitchen and the bathroom, previously located outside, connecting them to the interior of the house.

This is just one example of how the Centre has succeeded in effectively investing its modest financial recourses and doubling its impact through the voluntary efforts of the local community. Engineer Osama Bani Odeh, Programme Coordinator, noted that they often suffer from limited resources and therefore waiting lists grow, meaning the most vulnerable cases suffer.

However, the resourceful approach of the Centre and its partners mean that they work around the issue of limited resources. For example, in the above mentioned case, after initial assessment of the costs, programme officials were able to collect the remaining unfunded costs from the local community and the CSC’s Goodwill Forum.

 Mr. Bilal Salameh, Director of the Community Service and Continuing Education Centre, stated that cases such as this one represent the centre’s philosophy, working with the people in need and not working for them. He went on to state how this was an application of the social work model based on human rights that promotes involving and enabling the people. Engineer Bani Odeh also explained that there are two supplementary aspects to the Housing Programme: the technical/ engineering aspect; and the social aspect. Therefore, the programme’s staff consists of male and female engineers, in addition to male and female social workers who all work together to assess cases before intervening.

Notes:

1. The Centre is funded by the OFID (OPEC Fund for International Development) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
2. The programme focuses mainly on rural areas with housing difficulties.