ANERA Brings Palestinian Youth Dance Group to Washington
ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) will welcome an award-winning Arab Youth Dance Troupe to Washington, DC October 2 to honor ANERA’s work to support Palestinian education.
The eight dancers, aged 9 to 11, are students at Rawdat al Zuhur School in East Jerusalem. The elementary school was established in 1952 to rescue 25 young girls whose families were left destitute by the 1948 war. Today the school has more than 230 students,
The dance group has been practicing both their English and their dance steps this summer in preparation for the trip, their first to the United States and a dream come true. During their week-long stay, the children will have special tours of the White House and Congress as well as visits to some of the most popular tourist attractions of the US capitol.
The youngsters will perform at ANERA’s Annual Dinner, which this year highlights the non-profit’s work in education in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon. ANERA’s involvement includes a nutritious feeding program for more than 25,000 preschoolers in Gaza, elementary and preschool rehabilitation in the West Bank and Gaza, IT centers at West Bank universities and vocational training programs in Lebanon, among others.
Three schools long-supported by ANERA will be honored at the dinner: Rawdat El Zuhur in Jerusalem, Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza and Al Kafaat Foundation in Lebanon.
For more than 40 years, ANERA has been a leading provider of development, health, education and employment programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East. In FY 2008, the relief and development agency delivered more than $75 million of programs to the people of the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.