Volunteer for Palestinian community in West Bank: If you’ve made up your mind you want to volunteer in the Middle East and you’ve decided you specifically want to go to West Bank, Palestine to help the locals Palestinian there, knowing how to go about volunteering in this complex country can still be a daunting prospect, especially if you have never been there before. There are visa considerations, a potential language barrier, and of course, the actual process of finding the right programme and getting there at all!
Finding a Community Development program in West Bank
As ever, the internet is your friend when you are looking for volunteer in a Community Development program in West Bank, Palestine. There is a bit of a trade off here as you might miss some of the smaller programmes with Palestinian organisations that are too small to have an internet presence, but by sticking with the larger, more official organisations, you will avoid unscrupulous organisations who are merely seeking to use volunteers to their own ends.
Be sure to do your research thoroughly, paying particular attention to former volunteer testimonials and feedback. These are key to seeing whether a particular organisation and programme will be a good fit for you culturally and help achieve the goals you want.
Volunteering through an international NGO in Palestine
Given the ongoing problems of the Israeli Occupation that the Palestinians must endure, many international NGOs target their efforts towards Palestine. The Red Crescent in particular (an affiliate of the International Red Cross Committee) does great work here, in the fields of personal development, health and general wellbeing.
These organisations tend to be fairly well-funded and professionally run which will lead to a better quality of volunteer experience. The drawback can sometimes be that because they are so well known, it can be very competitive to find roles with them and even unpaid volunteer roles can be difficult to obtain without the necessary background and experience.
Volunteering with a local NGO in Palestine
There are many smaller NGOs which operate in the bigger cities of the West Bank. Particularly prevalent are culture centres and small scale organisations helping refugees or religious organisations. These local Palestinian NGOs can be harder to find on your first visit to Palestine, and it can sometimes be a better idea to try your hand with one of these once you know the area and the language a bit better.
There can be a culture clash when foreigners visit Palestine for the first time, so it can be the case that immediately embedding yourself into a strongly Palestinian organisation on the first attempt can be difficult!
Volunteering in a local Palestinian language school
This option can be an interesting alternative to the other two previously described. A language school is generally likely to be more professionally run than a local NGO (and sometimes even some of the international NGO).
Working alongside Palestinians you will develop your skills (particularly if the volunteering involves teaching), whilst learning Arabic and integrating into the local culture, which is always a very nice feeling. Additionally, the teachers are likely to speak a good level of English which helps you integrate smoothly and avoid too much of a culture shock when you first acome to Palestine to volunteer.
Volunteering with the Excellence Center in Palestine
An option that achieves the best of all worlds is the volunteering program with the Excellence Center in Hebron, the West Bank, Palestine. Here you can volunteer in any you like –as a nurse, an engineer, Community Development, a sports coach or even a circus performer as we had earlier this year. A dedicated liaison manager will work with the community to channel your help to where it is needed the most.
Here you may check these 6 programs of volunteer for Palestinian community in West Bank, Palestine:
- Volunteer and Study Arabic program
- Women Rights volunteering Program (1- 12 weeks)
- Volunteer in Journalism Program (1-12 weeks)
- Volunteer in a Technology Project (1-12 weeks)
- Teach English and Study Arabic in Palestine (2-3months)
- Volunteering in Local Schools in West Bank (1- 12 weeks)
The common form of volunteering is as an English Teacher
The most common form of volunteering in West Bank, Palestine is as an English Teacher. In this role, you will work alongside an experience Palestinian teacher (who speaks English) to deliver quality education to children who really need it. This can be in the Excellence Center, as well as in the surrounding villages of Hebron, West Bank, and in the nearby Fawwar Refugee Camp. The Excellence Center oversees volunteers’ development to ensure they are constantly improving their teaching skill and providing value for the community.
In addition to your accommodation, the volunteer programme also includes some of your meals and dedicated Arabic tutoring to help develop your language skills and help you speak to those in the community who you are helping. A Palestinian tutor will personally oversee your development and ensure that, with the immersive experience of constantly being alongside Arabic speakers, that your language skills improve rapidly.
Arriving to Hebron, West Bank
The Excellence Center will give you all the necessary support to ensure that you can arrive safely in Hebron with the minimum possible stress. The Excellence Center will guide you through the process of obtaining a visa on arrival at Ben Gurion airport (it is not advised to enter the West Bank from Jordan), and help you with transport from Tel Aviv along to Jerusalem and then down to Hebron.
We look forward to welcoming you to volunteer here at the Excellence Center with us soon at some point in the near future! We hope you enjoyed reading Volunteer for Palestinian community in West Bank article.
Program’s reviews from former volunteers
The Volunteer for Palestinian community in West Bank has more than:
- 333 reviews (93%) on gooverseas.com
- 50 reviews (96%) on goabroad.com
- Volunteers in Palestine video testimonials
Any questions?
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact at Rafat@excellencenter.org
Find us online
Whatsapp:+972599479880
For more information, please visit our website: https://excellencenter.org
Excellence Center’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ExcellenceCenter
Excellence Center’s Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/RafatECHebron
Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsQSLdFZWZcBm6Uj0XMYuKg
Visit and Explore Palestine: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorePalestine