Volunteer/Internship Organisations In The West Bank: Volunteering in Palestine is remarkable as it will enrich you in so many different ways. Palestine is a magical place with so much historical background which is incomparable to other countries in the Middle East. It offers a beautiful history of many religions while also having beautiful landscapes. Palestine is very diverse which contributes to the amazing environment since each city has something unique to offer.
However, there still is so much more opportunity to develop the Palestinian environment and the lives of Palestinian children, refugees, women and community members as they are still living under occupation. Even though, the Palestinian community is incredibly open and welcoming, many citizens still undergo immense hardships due to the occupation.
Volunteering/interning gives you the opportunity to develop your skillset, which can even be more developed by learning a new language ‘Arabic’. While you are volunteering, you become super engaged with the Palestinian community and therefore, are able to pick up common words and sentences, this is something you can always further develop if you want by taking classes. Volunteers/interns love the experience of being engaged with the Palestinian community as they learn so much from the Palestinian people, and Palestinian culture, while also learning about themselves.
International NGO Volunteer Organisations
International NGO opportunities in the West Bank, Palestine are usually safe as they tend to be with big established organisations which have a reputation of being trusted for their work. This isn’t always the case so you still need to plan the volunteer experience and ensure that any potential organisation is giving you as much support as possible.
There will usually be lots of feedback about these programmes so you can see if they work for you, which makes this a good place to start if you are looking for a programme in Palestine for the first time – organisations like the UN, Human Rights Defenders and NGOs that deal with Palestinian refugee, human rights issues are your best place to look in this case.
Domestic Volunteer Organisations In Palestine
An alternative to this option is finding a local Palestinian community organisation which is primarily based in the West Bank, Palestine. Working with such an organisation can help bring you closer to the people you are helping and can also have the effect of providing a better immersive environment in which to develop your Arabic skills.
The only downside is that these organisations can be harder to find as they are less likely to have an obvious internet presence, so it can be more difficult to find one of these opportunities.
Safety In Palestine
The West Bank overall tends to be a safe place, however, at times there might be some minor clashes due to the current and ongoing Israeli occupation. However, these situations can always be detected and predicted prior to a clash happening.
Therefore, while in Palestine it is always smart to stay updated with what is happening in the West Bato see in which areas trouble might occur. So that during your weekends here you can try to avoid traveling to these places. However, it should also be noted that as a foreigner you will never truly experience the same hardships as the locals here, which for you can somewhat be an advantage.
Your Expectations And The Type of Program
When you decide to look for Volunteer/Internship Organisations in the West Bank, you tend to have a certain mindset of what you would want to achieve, what skills you would like to develop, and somewhat have an idea how you would like to spend your days. If you don’t have that just yet, maybe start thinking about it because you don’t want to sign up for a program that does not offer the aspects you are looking for regarding your personal growth.
At the end of the day, it does not matter how long you will volunteer/intern or how long your internship might be, you are still investing your time in a program. As we know ‘time is valuable’, therefore you might not want to waste your time at a program that doesn’t offer something valuable to you.
International Volunteer And Internship Programs
International volunteer and internship programs can be safe options as they are recognised internationally and have more departments in several countries. It is more likely that there are more reviews written about these types of programs and organisations.
Through reviews, you can really get an impression of what the volunteer and internship program has to offer. When you are looking for a volunteer and internship program in Palestine, my personal advice would be to look at non-profit organisations as those tend to recognised well internationally. In Palestine, the programs tend to focus on the situation of refugees and human rights.
Domestic Volunteer and Internship Programs
Looking for Volunteer/Internship Opportunities in the West Bank? Alternatively, you may opt to volunteer or undertake an internship with a local Palestinian organization or community center. These organizations often have closer ties to the local community, which can deepen your understanding of the area and provide invaluable learning experiences. However, it’s important to acknowledge that these organizations may sometimes be more challenging to connect with.
Summer Volunteer Programs
The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine provides excellent volunteer/internship opportunities from June through September for those searching for summer internships or volunteer programs in the West Bank, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon or Israel. For students, native English speakers, those with summer breaks, and anyone wishing to serve abroad for an extended period of time, these volunteer programs and internships are perfect.
These volunteer/internship summer programs in West Bank, Palestine combine a focus on the Arabic language with thorough education, immersion, and participation in Palestinian culture, politics and history. Visits are made to Palestinian refugee camps, local towns, and community centers in addition to Bedouin regions (Susiya).
The Excellence Center/Engage In Palestine
Being a volunteer at the Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine is a good combination of both the international and domestic feeling. Because the Center is recognised internationally as it also has a department in Germany, however, through the Center you are still able to feel close to the locals and the Palestinian community. The Center works with many local Palestinian citizens who are able to share their stories about the occupation, but they will also explain the Palestinian culture and through that you can really feel Palestinian hospitality.
Furthermore, the Excellence Center itself is very diverse in what it can offer you; you can volunteer or do an internship. But you can also learn Arabic and teach English, or you can combine certain elements together. However, either way, you will influence Palestinian lives and they for sure will have a positive influence on your life.
Long Term VS Short Term
The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine offers different volunteer/internship programs on the site you can find; ‘Arabic immersion courses’, ‘Volunteer programs’, and ‘internships’. You can do any of those three courses from a minimum of a week to a maximum of 3 months and each course has so many different things to offer, as can be seen in the table below.
The programs are open to everyone, from students to retired people, the Center is ageless and thus an amazing experience for everyone. The time you spend in Palestine is up to you and based on the time you have of course, but together with the Center you can find the perfect program and schedule for you that will help fulfill your achievements.
| Volunteer programs | Internships |
|---|---|
| Volunteer with Palestinian Children | Palestinian Laws and Legal Practices internship |
| Volunteer with Palestinian refugees in the West Bank | Human Rights Program in the West Bank |
| Teach English in the West Bank | Palestine and Israel in Context internship |
| Women and Children Rights in Palestine | The Palestinian culture internship program |
| Music and Arts in the West Bank | Educational system in Palestine |
| Medicine and Healthcare in the West Bank | Media and Journalism Program |
| Media and Journalism Program |
Great Impact
Our Volunteer and Internship programs in the West Bank are well researched, targeted, and suitable for anyone who wants to gain insights into daily Palestinian legal affairs and human rights. We aim to make a long term difference for the Palestinian local community through the exchange of ideas and “walking in each other’s shoes”.
Volunteering and interning is a unique opportunity to genuinely make an impact on your life as well as others including Palestinian children, refugees, youth and community members in the West Bank, Palestine.
Awards And Recognitions
We continue to strive towards “excellence”: In 2022 we were rated one of the top three programs worldwide in offering volunteer opportunities and one of the top three language schools worldwide by Go Overseas. We received a total of five Go Overseas Community Choice Awards in 2022. The Excellence Center was also recognized as one of the top Teach Abroad Providers for the category of “benefits” and one of the Top Internship Abroad Providers for the categories of “growth” and “support”.
In 2021, we were also rated one of the top three programs worldwide in offering volunteer opportunities. We received the community choice awards by Go Overseas in the categories “Best Language School”, and voted best on “fun” and “instruction.”
In 2019, we received our first “Go Overseas Community Choice Awards” to acknowledge the Excellence Center’s impact on the community of travelers around the world. The Excellence Center continues to be a highly rated travel organization across its selection of programs.
Check out our many great reviews here:
- +730 Reviews (96%) on Gooverseas.com
- +150 Reviews (96%) on Goabroad.com
- Participants’ video testimonials
Who Can Participate?
Our Volunteer/Internship Programs in Palestine program is open to all English speakers, whether they are undergraduates, graduates, professionals, or retired individuals. This program is a great opportunity for anyone looking to volunteer in Palestine, the West Bank, Israel, Jordan, the Middle East, or the wider Arabic world.
Volunteer/Intern in Hebron, West Bank
Our diverse range of volunteer/internship projects in Hebron, West Bank are available year-round to our international volunteers on a flexible basis, offering brilliant, informative opportunities for people who are:
- Looking to travel in the Israel/ Palestine area.
- Interested in summer volunteering programs, particularly in the Middle East.
- College, university or gap year students looking for volunteering opportunities in Israel and Palestine.
- Interested to help Palestinian refugees and children
- Concerned about the political and humanitarian situation in the local region and the people and communities affected.
- Interested in Palestinian and Arabic culture, particularly those who want to learn and improve their Arabic.
Take the chance to travel on your own and see distinctive tourist sights from a local’s point of view, such as Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Jenin, and the Dead Sea in Jericho.
Benefits of Volunteering or Doing an Internship
There are many benefits to volunteering or doing an internship in Palestine both from the social and academic aspects. Firstly, socially you will learn so much about yourself when you are surrounded by a new environment again, you will start to look differently at life as life will start to become different for you as well. Most likely you will become more dependent and aware of what you want as a person and what you admire or actually secretly dislike.
It is also likely that you will travel a lot within the holy land and through that you will become very knowledgeable in different aspects of yourself. You are able to learn more about different communities, for example, you will see how the community between Ramallah and Hebron differs, or any other city compared to where you are based. Moreover, you most likely also obtain the skill of how to travel fast but still cheap and you can make the most out of the weekends within a certain amount of time. You will also learn so much about the Palestinian culture by meeting incredible families that truly make you more open-minded which is such an amazing skill to have.
Academically, you will learn so much about the situation in Palestine as you will be able to experience many things yourself. However, you also will be told incredible and interesting stories about what has been happening to the locals for example. Therefore, you will become more aware of the situation, and this is information you cannot obtain from news articles or anywhere else but here. As there is so much to the situation in Palestine that is not told and thus hearing these stories is very important to obtain a more thorough understanding. Furthermore, you are able to learn a new language which can help you a lot in the future.
Summary
In Summary, coming to the West Bank, Palestine to volunteer or do an internship is an amazing opportunity due to the amount you will learn about yourself, Palestinian community, the occupation, and also the amount you will offer to the Palestinian community development. Moreover, you will be able to improve your skillset by everything you learn in Palestine as well as learn a new language.
The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine has so much to offer because of its diverse programs in the volunteer course, as well as in the internship course. It is almost guaranteed that within those courses you will learn incredibly much and that many of the achievements of volunteers and interns will be fulfilled.
The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine is recognised internationally as it has a sister community center in Germany as well, however, it still gives a ‘domestic organisation’ vibe as it works together with so many locals in Hebron and outside Hebron. This gives you the opportunity to make amazing connections which include the connections you will make if you decide to travel on the weekends.
Any Questions?
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact at Rafat@excellencenter.org
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Tags: Internships in Palestine, Summer Programs in Palestine, Volunteer Programs in the West Bank
