Sandra from Palestine
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
This quote has always inspired me to be the best leader, so with this quote in my mind I have chosen to be with Ecopeace to let them see my hard work, passion, ambitions and dreams to be a good leader in my community. I wish to be the change and to make the change. When they gave me the chance to be part of this environmental group, I said yes, this is my chance to improve my life.
My ambitions to be here allow me to take every single word, information and presentations in a serious way. Because of this I have listened very carefully to everything in order to be sure that I can understand and learn from everything, especially this camp.
This camp has opened my eyes to see the real problems and how much it effects on many other things in life. Actually, my heart is broken because of the hard situation I have heard about. In conclusion with the knowledge I’ve looked into and the friendships I made and through my ability to get through both the fun moments and the sad ones, I am going to show people that I can make the change with a lot of energy.
“Through you, nothing is impossible”
Tamara from Israel
Elhamdulela is the first word I learned when I first decided to make an attempt to speak in Arabic. ElHamdulela I decided to go to the Ecopeace alumni seminar in Jordan because im pretty sure it was one of the best decisions I have made. Before Jordan and Ecopeace seminars, I went to an international high school for the past year in Israel where there are 20% Israelis, 20% Palestinians, and the last 60% is from all around the world who came to specifically partake in this crazy adventure of a program in hopes of achieving the schools goal: “A force for peace and sustainability in the Middle East.” I have lived with Palestinians and as an Israeli; I can say peace is possible, and understanding and appreciating each other is possible, regardless of which side of the border we are on. Attending the Ecopeace conferences only made me more sure of what I already believed, that politics don’t necessarily separate me and my friends across the border. In my first conference I was laughing, and dancing with my new Palestinian and Jordanian friends. One Jordanian girl told me we were like sisters who found each other. A Palestinian boy told me he will never forget me. So elhamdulela for the mentors who supported us students during the mini-journey of meeting our family that we never really realized we were connected to. Elhamdulela for Ecopeace, who simply made it possible for us to meet, because this mini-journey will be imbedded in our memories. Elhamdulela.
Malak from Palestine
The 17th of July camp in Jordan that lasted three days with Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli girls was my second time to be in Jordan. However, this has been different from any other camp I have attended in the past. The participants are so great and active. They all want to learn, to improve, they want to learn about each other’s culture and language. Also a highlight of the camp for me was meeting my old friends who traveled to Japan with me. Also, I tried during this camp to teach the participants how to do morning exercises. I felt as a leader, so I also engaged in the debate about the Zeqlap dam. It was a really great experience. I learned more about how to be a good leader. Also I received new knowledge about how to solve problems as an individual or as a group.
Mohammad from Palestine
I am Mohammad from Palestine living in the West Bank. I joined Ecopeace in 2013 and I am proud to say that I am an active member there. Ecopeace has affected me and my colleagues positively. For me, it changed my life and developed my personality. Since Ecopeace holds lots of events and workshops, I have participated in many national and regional camps, events and workshops. For example, I attended two events in Auja and 3 ones at SHE in Jordan. Each seminar that the organization holds has a specific goal which does its best to achieve it. One of these events that I have been a member of was the tour guide workshop at Auja/ Palestine and its goal was training students to get ready for working in the field under the umbrella of the Alumni program. And also, I have participated in an Ecopeace workshop at SHE/ Jordan which aimed to emphasize the importance of the environment, how to protect it, and focusing on dealing with environmental cases. Finally, I hope that Ecopeace will keep on being active and hold more events in the future.
Asal from Jordan
Confidence is one of the most personal aspects that Ecopeace develops for its participants, so I am very lucky to be one of them. I have gained a lot through taking part in the events and workshops, also I became more able to open up and speak without hesitation or being shy during sessions. In addition, Ecopeace makes me more aware towards the situation of water and environment in the region. It also teaches me how to deal with environmental issues. As a result, I have awareness of the importance of water and balanced ecosystems. Moreover, I see Ecopeace as a successful NGO on the level of the collaboration and breaking the ice between people from different places and beliefs. For example, I participated in the last regional Alumni seminar on this month which involved students from Palestine, Jordan and Israel. I have been able to communicate perfectly; we shared our cultures, traditions and our social media accounts. During activities of the seminar, I noticed that the stereotypical image that had been pictured in my mind was changing for another honest and positive one. In conclusion, I wish more success and development for this honourable organization and to be the top 1 institute that does environmental activities.
