The Association for the Relief and Welfare of Kammana

About | Objectives | Current Projects | Past Achievements | Members

Introduction

Currently, the Association for the Relief and Welfare of Kammana is engaged in many development projects. Yet, we have a long way to go before all our objectives are achieved. In order to proceed with current vital projects the association requires a functioning office, among other things. Currently, the citizens of Kammana are only able to provide 25% of the total costs of projects and operational expenses. Click here to find out how you can help. Here’s a sample of our current projects:

The Development Plan

In response to the development plan for Kammana suggested by the regional council, we have proposed our own plan. Our plan for development provides a real solution to Kammana’s needs by including more residents, creating a centralized shape, and allowing for expansion.

Click here to learn more about the development plan that we are working to implement.

Education

Education is a priority in the development in Kammana. For decades, lack of education has led to a variety of social problems for our village. Today there are roughly 150 - 160 kids in East Kammana alone who are of school age (Kindergarten through high school). This number does not include the families who have moved to other places for better access to schools. However, a small kindergarten is the only educational facility the village now possesses. Virtually all youth and students must go outside the village for education. This is a great hardship on families and has forced many to leave Kammana.

The Association for the Relief and Welfare of Kammana is fighting for more educational facilities and programs that will

• serve children pre-kindergarden ages (3-4)
• teach mathematics, reading and writing
• teach english, hebrew, and arabic to both children and adults.

One option we are considering is for the religious studies center to serve as a learning center during the evenings through volunteering.

Child Care Center

It would be very helpful to have a place for women to bring their children so they would be able to work. In light of the low socio-economic level of the families here, the women cannot afford to pay for someone to watch their children. If women in the village could open their homes for a salary, this would create a win-win situation. The women watching the children would be able to help supplement their family income and the other families will benefit from another salary. This project can be implemented in the immediate future and may be an ideal place to start the improvements to our village.

Clinic

There are 24 young children in the neighborhood of Jalassa. At the moment there is no clinic there to serve the mothers during their pregnancy and the children when they are young. We would like to see a pediatric clinic set up there so that these services would be more readily available to these women and their children. As any parent knows, travel during pregnancy and with infants can be very difficult. We want to rent a room to house the clinic and we would need supplies and to pay the salary of the nurse (two days a week) and a cleaning lady.

Preserving Our Heritage

It is important for us to preserve our Bedouin heritage. Plans for development in this area include:

• Building a traditional Bedouin tent
• Creating a book that documents the history of the Sawaid tribe and Kammana
• Establishing a village cemetary with a fence, gate, and road leading to it

Extra-Curricular Activities

To reduce dropout rate from school and increase the level of achievement in our youth, we are working to create extra-curricular activities. Parents have come to us for help and focusing on troubled youth is our priority. We are working to create informal activities such as leadership training, sports, arts, dancing, and theater.

We have been running a youth summer camp for many years now. We are interested in expanding this summer camp into 12-day session with 5 days of field trips and full day entertainment for about 100 children.

Our community has no place for our children to play. Right now, they use the road as a sports field. We are working to create a sports field and equipment for the kids to play outside. The villages field needs to be leveled, paved, lines made and goal boxes. We would also like to create an atmosphere for sports such as competitions and other events.