Current Appeal: Lent 2012

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The land belonged to Gadil and he belonged to the land. But the 'separation barrier' built by the Israeli government in the West Bank had led to the confiscation of his land. A 25-foot high concrete
wall now occupied the soil that once nourished his trees. Gadil’s family of seven, including his disabled daughter, were left trying to survive on welfare support of £10 a week.

Just £10. It sounds like a tiny amount for a family to live on but, amazingly, your donation of £10 could help feed a family like Gadil’s for a lot more than a week. Just £10 could help them make a sustainable living for generations to come.

How? We want to take practical action to relieve poverty in this situation of injustice – but we need your help.

Of course we’re praying for a just peace in Israel and Palestine, but no one knows how long the political and economic crisis will continue, and in the area where Gadil lives, at least 34% of households do not have reliable access to sufficient nutritious food. Many are dependent on humanitarian aid.

They don’t want to be. Gadil has been a farmer all his life. He knows how to work hard and earn a living, but at the moment he doesn't have a chance. The separation wall casts a shadow of hunger over his grandchildren’s lives.

We want to help Gadil and his family plant the seeds of change and turn the last rocky area of ground behind their house into a productive smallholding. In partnership with the Middle East Council of Churches, we aim to provide the resources for families like Gadil’s to set up small-scale farming on a sustainable level. Will you stand with us to help those left impoverished by the separation wall?

We’re focusing on the Tulkarem, Qalqilya and Jenin areas in the north of the West Bank, where more than 10,000 people have been affected by the loss of agricultural land. We might not be able to help them all, but we can make a huge difference to the lives of a few.

Each of our supported families will receive everything they need to get started with a smallholding:

• chickens to provide eggs
• vegetable seedlings – for example tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers
• a supply of good quality animal feed
• sheep to provide milk and produce lambs that the family can sell
• fruit trees such as citrus and guava
• a polytunnel to protect the plants

Plant the seeds of change. YOU can help families grow their way out of poverty.

If you could contribute towards any one of these items, we’ll be well on the way to helping families like Gadil’s start growing their way out of poverty. The project includes training too, plus ongoing support and advice so that the families can really make the most of the little land they have left.

Or perhaps you would consider making a regular donation by Direct Debit, until December 2014? Just £10 a month – or whatever you can afford – would enable us to ensure that by then the families will be earning an independent living and will no longer need our help.

Israel and Palestine’s difficult political situation is so complex that it sometimes feels hopeless to try to do anything about it. But Christians are quietly working hard in practical social ministry to help the most disadvantaged, and by sending a donation to BibleLands today, you really can do something to plant the seeds of change.

Yours in Christ
Tricia Pruden
Head of Communication and Fundraising

P.S. For another way of helping disadvantaged people in the Middle East this Easter, see our range of Alternative Gifts

The Israeli government confiscated Gadil's land to build its separation barrier - this concrete wall now cuts across the place where his olive trees once stood. He was left without a livelihood, and his family faced poverty and hunger.

This is the reality for many farmers in the northern West Bank, and with employment opportunities scarce, their situation is getting worse. Please help BibleLands take practical action to alleviate poverty today by donating to our appeal.

We need your help: to raise enough money to help disadvantaged Palestinian families set up small-scale sustainable farming on their remaining pieces of land.

As Gadil says, he doesn’t want to be dependent on anyone. That’s why we’re only asking for your help until December 2014. After that, the families will be self-sufficient and secure in the knowledge of an independent future.

Please make a regular donation or a single gift today. Together we can plant the seeds of change for families living in the shadow of the separation barrier.

Donate online

Read about previous appeals' impact...