Registered charity number 1170414
JAEP was set up in memory of Revd Canon Dr John Aves. John, was living and volunteering in Dheisheh, one of three Palestinian refugee camps in Bethlehem at the time of his sudden death in January 2004. The refugee camps were established in 1948, when Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes following the Arab-Israeli War. For ten years the people lived in tents, in 1958 the United Nations started to replace these with concrete dwellings.
Just the day before he died, John wrote that he was returning with hope because of his experiences in Dheisheh where the people are determined to place their hopes in educating their children To make this hope a reality, family and friends set up the John Aves Education Project (JAEP)
JAEP financially supports young people from Dheisheh Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem to study for an undergraduate degree at their local universities. To date we have funded 70 young people.
John Aves Education Project (JAEP) update November 2021
Thank you very much for continuing to support JAEP set up in memory of Revd Canon Dr John Aves. John, was living and volunteering in Dheisheh, one of three Palestinian refugee camps in Bethlehem at the time of his sudden death in January 2004. The refugee camps were established in 1948, when Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes following the Arab-Israeli War. For ten years the people lived in tents, in 1958 the United Nations started to replace these with concrete dwellings.
Just the day before he died, John wrote that he was returning with hope because of his experiences in Dheisheh where the people are determined to place their hopes in educating their children To make this hope a reality, family and friends set up the John Aves Education Project (JAEP), which to date has raised over £430,000 and from October 2021 we will have financially supported 71 young people, 53 girls and 18 boys, for undergraduate study
We fund mainly vocational science, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, biochemistry, electrical engineering, architectural engineering, computer engineering. There are more employment prospects in these areas.
We continue to be thankful that we were able to visit Al Quds and Bethlehem universities and camp in February 20, two days after we returned home the area was locked down because of Covid. Meeting and spending time with JAEP students, their families and university staff is invaluable in understanding more about their situation and validating our student selection process.
Classes have been delivered online since March 2020. Learning from homes which are crowded, have no heating, experience frequent power cuts has been very challenging for our students. This has been compounded by the fact many are using mobile phones to study from or sharing one laptop with many siblings. Thankfully social media has meant we can keep in regular contact with both staff and students during this time. Students have returned to face to face teaching at universities from September 2021 for this academic year.
Covid has meant no pilgrims and tourists visiting the area, resulting in a loss of income for families. For others working, often illegally, in Israel has also been more difficult.
The levels of vaccination in Israel are much higher than in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. All of which has meant that conditions for our families have worsened. JAEP made the decision, thanks to the incredible support of so many, to increase the level of funding we give and also to help repay some of the students’ debts. This has enabled the students to graduate and seek employment. Until any debt is paid the students do not receive their graduation certificates.
The Palestinian Government is reliant on donations of vaccines from around the world including the UK. Currently just 23%of the population have received two Covid va
ccinations compared to 78% of the Israeli population. Maybe tricky to use the % as any google search produces different numbers!!!
One way to support us is to buy our cards! We have two new notelet designs and for the seventh successive year we are selling Christmas cards. All the profits from the
cards go to fund young people from Dheisheh. We are selling the cards in Norwich at the Original Norwich Charity Christmas Card Shop (www.oncccs.org.uk) located in St Peter Mancroft Church, (opening on 19th October 10.30am), both Cathedrals, and Revelation bookshop, £5.00 for a pack of 10 cards. For 2021 there are ten Christmas card images. All the images are on our website https://www.jaep.org.uk/christmas-cards. If you would like to buy cards direct from us please email [email protected].
We regularly give talks to local groups about the work of the project. If you would like to book at talk please contact [email protected]
Liz Magem, JAEP secretary 14th October 2021