On February 16, 2017, HCEF completed the renovation of a water cistern to provide drinking water for 370 children at the Rosary Sisters School in Bethlehem. The school, founded in 1893, was built to serve Christian and Muslim children from low-income backgrounds in the Bethlehem area. Many of the students are children from the local refugee camps.
Because the Rosary Sisters School is committed to admitting pupils regardless of their families’ income, the majority of their limited funding goes to covering tuition and teacher salaries. Consequently, the school has been unable to allocate funds for updating their utilities and infrastructure. The project was completed with the support of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development in Washington, DC.
HCEF President Rateb Rabie, KCHS, commented, “HCEF has undertaken the mission of rehabilitating ancient water cisterns in the Bethlehem area. The aim of the Water Cistern Renovation Project is to provide people with an alternative and consistently available source of water that saves them money and preserves their human dignity.”
“We have been suffering from a real crisis of water,” said Sr. Davida Twal, the school Principal. “Long periods of continuous water disconnection along with the damaged and decayed school water network, meant limited drinking water for our school community.”
The rehabilitated well provides consistent clean water to the school, meeting the needs of all 370 students and 30 teachers who work and learn there. The school expressed their profound gratitude to HCEF and the Jerusalem Fund for their contribution to the welfare of education in the Holy Land.
“We cannot thank you enough for your advocacy in supporting our life-serving work,” said Sr. Davida. “We are truly inspired by the dedication and generosity of donors like you who are always ready to answer the call to give again and again.”
To support our Water Cistern Renovation Program, please visit:
https://hcef.org/programs/wcrp/
