1st Palestinian Birth+Prenatal Ctrs, Jordan Valley

Dear Friend,

I am writing to convey very positive news about our 1^st Palestinian Birthing Center-Jordan Valley project!   Thanks to your support, implementation of this project is now underway!

Last month, Donna Baranski-Walker, founder and executive director of Rebuilding Alliance, met with Jim Stunkel,  Project Lead from Assist International, the organization that will provide the birthing center equipment and training. Donna and Jim then developed a Memorandum of Understanding for all the stakeholders in the project and connected with the Rotary Club of Ramallah (our project partners) to work through details. 

Here are all the tasks that must be addressed: 

1. Shipping Details: The equipment must arrive safely in Israel or in Jordan without tariffs.  From there it must be transported to Al Aqaba in a timely manner.  Our Customs approval process presents interesting challenges becaues Al Aqaba Village is in Area C, the part of the West Bank that is solely controlled by Israel.    
2. Clinic Preparation: Jim Stunkel now has the photos he needed showing where our equipment will be placed inside Al Aqaba's Al Amal (Hope) Clinic.  Jim is working through siting for the ultrasound, heart, incubator equipment and labor/delivery beds, and also electricity and transformer connections;
3. Signature of Memorandum of Understanding: To make this project come together, a number of groups and individuals will each play an important role.  Rebuilding Alliance, the Rotary Club of Ramallah, and the Rotary Club of Woodside/Portola Valley, and Assist International all have their roles -- and so does Mayor Haj Sami, Governor Toubassi, and the Minister of Health!   One of the challenges here has to do with the simple fact that babies are born at every time of day or night.  That means our clinic must be staffed 24/7... with the Palestinian government unable to pay salaries and consumer riots in the streets, it is a tough time to request a new staffing commitment in Al Aqaba.   
4. Palestinian Medical Team: Once the staffing comitment is made and funded, the Ministry of Health and the Mayor of Al Aqaba will begin recruitment of an experienced Palestinian doctor to supervise the team of technicians, doctors and midwives. The qualified Doctor/supervisor is someone who already uses ultrasound. Dedicated daily staffing should be provided by qualified nurses, midwifes and medical support specialists as needed for the anticipated patient services. This staff will need to participate in all installation and orientation training of donated equipment.
5. U.S. Training Team: Recruitment of two technicians who will provide training as to use and maintenance of the equipment;
6. Visiting Rotarians: A group of Rotarians and friends would like to come to Al Aqaba while the medical team is there, then tour Palestine and Israel too.  I think we're talking springtime.
7. Awareness of our Birthing Center: We’ll want to have the full assistance of the Governor, the Minister of Health, and all the neighboring mayors to welcome this clinic and let families throughout the Jordan Valley know that it is here.
8. Diplomatic Assistance: We’ll need the British Consulate, the American Consulate, and the many consulates and agencies that have invested in Al Aqaba to express their support for the clinic, both publically and privately, so that patients can reach the birthing center, and the clinic will stay safe.

Below are some pictures of the medical clinic, along with Kali’s measurements of the clinic. We at Rebuilding Alliance are excited to see photos of where the clinic will be located and are happy to share them with you! Thank you again for supporting this project!

Hello Everyone,

Good news:  Rotary International has approved a matching grant that will provide the birthing center equipment, in parallel with our Rebuilding Alliance fundraising effort here in GlobalGiving.org to provide the training. At long last, we can launch this important project.

We're planning for early October.  In addition to the technical training team, Rotarians from the San Francisco Area are encouraging Rebuilding Alliance to host a Holy Land Visit.  The Rotary Club of Ramallah in Palestine and the Rotary Club of Nazareth in Israel will both be hosting, as well as the Villagers of Al Aqaba!   We welcome you to join us!  Details coming soon - please do send me email if you would like to join us!

Now, if you would, please take a moment to make a donation to this project to help meet the goal!  We're almost there.

Today, Wednesday June 13th, GlobalGiving will match all donations to this project by 50%!  Their Match Day will end at 11:59 pm Eastern time or sooner if their matching funds run out.

Thank you again for making Al Aqaba's dream, the 1st Palestinian Birthing Center in the Jordan Vally, a reality! 

Dear Friends,
I am writing to update you about the status of this project and let you know about important upcoming milestones related to our Birthing Center project.

1. First, our birthing center project is so close to fruition, just $800 to reach the Rebuilding Alliance portion of our fundraising goal.   Why the Rebuilding Alliance portion?  You may remember that altogether, this is a rather large project involving both training and equipment.  Your donation helps pay for the training side of the project.  Separately, there is a Rotary Matching grant proposal to fund the equipment side of the project with about seven Rotary Clubs (including the new Rotary Club of Ramallah and the Rotary Club of Nazareth) donating the first tier of matching funds.  Just one or two more Rotary Clubs are needed to contribute funds and then their application will be sent to Rotary International to close the matching grant.
2. We will soon begin arranging a trip to Al Aqaba to coincide with the equipment installation and medical training on site.  We look forward to arranging this trip through Green Olive Tours -- with travel through the West Bank and Israel, hosted in part by the Rotary clubs in both places.  I look forward to sending you more information about this soon!
3. Right now, our plan is to install the birthing center in the Al Aqaba Medical Clinic  (4 rooms plus reception area), however, our little birthing center could be the start of something much bigger.   In the week ahead, Donna Baranski-Walker, our Executive Director, will travel to Jerusalem to meet with the office of the Latin Patriarch and their attorneys at the St. Ives Human Rights Center to ask them to lease the Vatican Land adjacent to Al Aqaba village to build a Rehabilitation Hospital.  Let's hold on to big hopes -- our birthing center may eventually be part of a much larger hospital, and the village of Al Aqaba will see dreams realized instead of demolition orders.

Thank you again for your support, and your patience.

Sincerely,

Hello Everyone

I have some exciting news about the birthing center. Because of your continued support and donations, this project is nearly fully funded!

In addition, the Rotary Club Matching Grant which is for the birthing center equipment (ultra-sound, heart-monitors, etc.), has now been sponsored by seven Rotary Clubs in the United States, Palestine, and Israel. That matching grant application, a sister grant to the birthing center training provided through your donations to GlobalGiving,  now moves forward for review at Rotary International. In total, both grants will make this is a $58,000 project!   We look forward to approval in a few months time.

If all goes well, the equipment will arrive in the spring and training at the birthing center will commence shortly thereafter. Would you like to travel there to join them?   We are organizing a tour in April or May, 2012 to visit the Holyland and stay in Al Aqaba while this training gets underway.  If you are interested in learning more about this tour, please let me know!

Thank you for your continuing support in helping fund this project. Through your generosity, Palestinian families of Area C in the West Bank will have a birthing center, in'shalah, equipped and staffed, to provide family-centered birthing assistance in addition to pre and post-natal care for mothers and children.

Sincerely,

Thank you so much for your past support of Rebuilding Alliance's workl We've used every dollar donated to remarkable results. I ask for your help once again.

In just a few hours time, GlobalGIving will match by 30% every dollar donated, up to $1000. They have $100,000 to give away in just 24hrs on Wednesday Oct. 19th, Eastern Time.

We need your help to rebuild Palestinian homes, schools, playgrounds, libraries. This Birthing Center project is just $2,215 from being fully funded! 

Please donate as early in the day as you can, before the funds run out.

Questions, suggestions? Please call me at 650-325-4663.

P.S. Your donation, large or small, really matters. GlobalGiving is providing a grant to the project with the most donors, and also a grant to the project that raises the most donations. We can do it... last time Rebuilding Alliance came in second. This time, help us to win!

P.P.S. One of our earlier GG Match projects helped create housing for teachers in Al Aqaba village. Here are photos of the Japanese teacher who came this past Sunday to give the children an overview of Japan!

Links:

• Our latest video, Rebuilding to Remain