This year’s Good Friday Gift supported the Diocese of Jerusalem to focus on building on the strengths and extending the capabilities of the youth in the Anglican parishes.

The project aimed to building a group of young people who were already active in the church and community in order to better root them in their faith and connect them to their Palestian homeland.

77 young people between the ages of 18 and 27 and 51 children attended two separate 5-day camps where they learned about the significance of their faith and how they can have a positive effect on the world around them. They also learned life skills, leadership skills, safeguarding, and team-building – all skills that will strengthen their ability to be active members of their parishes and communities. The experience also created mutual support between the young people.

Let’s hear from two of the young people who participated in the Youth Camp – Darin, a young woman aged 19, and Wadie, a young man who, at 18, was one of the camp leaders.

Darin: “My name is Darin. I am 19 years old from the Holy Family Church in Raineh. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in the capacity building training, I learnt a lot and the main thing is that leadership does not mean that I have to be old and well educated I can be a successful leader with my young age and even before getting my higher education. Moreover, leadership does not mean giving orders or instructions it simply means to be an active in the community and be a role model for those you would lead. I also learnt how to use the lessons we learn in our daily life.

“The best thing I learnt is that I can be an active member in the development of my church and community even at my young age. I learnt how to work in a team with other participants from different churches and I was not shy to share my challenges as a young Christian in the Holy Land.

This capacity building program has created mutual support between young people in the Church, by providing more opportunity for young people to encourage one another, to build each other up. Moreover, we now are able to recognize the positive effect that we could have on the world around us.”

Wadie: “The young people in my group really connected with the theme of the day. This was shown in a play that they had devised and were performing the next evening. The organisers wanted to build a sense of belonging to a group and a community, and they really got that message through — the idea of belonging to the Church and belonging to Christ.”

AID would like to thank all our supporters who generously gave so that we could send $30,000 to the Diocese of Jerusalem for this vital project which will see empowered young people playing their part in building up their churches and communities.