Land and People are our concern

Bent Al-reef Empowerment Project
Text Box: Monday, 23 March 2009 First Session: What is Environmental Wellness…? Lecturer: Jihan Nassar, Coordinator, Bent Alreef Women Center Participants: 30 women from the village 3 EAPPI women (Norway, Sweden) Dr. Rick Martin (USA) Mr. & Mrs. Elana Bell (USA) Lydia Funck (Germany) Margorie Gourlay (Scotland) Ilse Brugger (Switzerland) What is Environmental Wellness and how it affects the other aspects of Wellness? How to obtain a more balanced life? In this session Jihan introduce the seven aspects of Wellness, which are seven major life areas that work together to create fulfillment and satisfaction. The seven aspect of wellness are:- Emotional Wellness, Physical Wellness, Social Wellness, Occupational Wellness, Intellectual Wellness , Environmental Wellness , and Spiritual Wellness. Each of the 7 Aspects directly affects the other. Physical Wellness, for example, has an effect on Emotional Wellness, and Occupational Wellness can affect Social Wellness. Without a Spiritual Wellness plan, many people might feel a lack of purpose or meaning in their lives. Intellectual Wellness keeps our minds moving, curious and interested in learning new things, and of course, Environmental Wellness—the world around us—has an immense impact on all of us, whether that's our personal environment or the global environment. It is important to focus on these 7 Aspects regularly for a more balanced life; a balance between body, soul and spirit. At the end of this session the international participants were asked to express and share with us what is necessary and important for their general wellness. Second Session: Intellectual Wellness Creative Writing "Poem Writing" Lecturer: Elana Bell, Poet, USA Participants: 30 women from the village 3 EAPPI Women (Norway, Sweden) Jihan Nassar (Palestine) Dr. Rick Martin (USA) Mr. Bell (USA) Lydia Funck (Germany) Margorie Gourlay (Scotland) Ilse Brugger (Switzerland) "Poems would be easy if our heads weren't so full of the days clatter. The task is to get through to the other side, where we can hear the deep rhythms that connect us with the stars and tides…" Stanley Kunitz, from 'Reflection" With this in mind, Elana Bell spoke about Intellectual Wellness as a focusing tool on learning. She explained that any activity that helps to explore the world around us, learn more about ourselves or expand our mind in any way supports healthy intellectual wellness. Reading, learning new skills, taking part in hobbies, being creative or appreciating art are all ways to support our intellectual wellness. The participants were asked to tell “one thing I hope for”. In response to their living situations the women’s wishes were peace, justice, being treated as human beings, having freedom to move, learning languages, and securing good future for their families and especially their children. Elana read the poem “Where I’m from…” an English poem that was written by one of her students in the USA. The poem was also read in Arabic after it got translated by Jihan. After reading the poem the group discussed it in terms of sensory details. Then the women were asked to reflect their past and think of their own childhood, family, personal experience, food, sights, sounds, smells, holidays, etc. and to write some lines in the style of the poem that was presented before. Many women read their impressive moving poems and continued writing them at home. Those poems were translated into English and German and hopefully into other languages. What we are looking for now is a sponsor to sponsor those poems to be printed in a book for many women of this world to read. The women of the village were working and following the workshop in a very enthusiastic way. At the end they confirmed that this was a very interesting day and that they learnt a lot. Tuesday 24 March 2009 First Session: Environmental Wellness"Pollution" "What’s being done on a global level, and what you can do in your community?" Lecturer: Majdi Tmezi, Agricultural Engineer / PARC Bethlehem Participants: 25 women from the village Jihan Nassar, (Palestine) Mr. & Mrs. Elana Bell (USA) Lydia Funck (Germany) Dr. Date (Holland) Ilse Brugger (Switzerland) Pollution can take many forms. The air we breath, the water we drink, the ground where we grow our food, and even the increasing noise we hear every day – all contribute to health problems and a lower quality of life for people as well as for animals, plants and trees. Water, earth, and air are the most important elements to be protected in order to have a healthy life for people and nature. Majdi Tmezi explained the different reasons that cause air pollution (Co2 emission, microwaves, etc.), water pollution, soil pollution, global warming, and acid rain. The educator said that it is very important to feel responsible towards the environment we are living in. He also talked about organic farming and agriculture. The educator explained how to make organic compost using the leftovers from the kitchen. Moreover the people are asked not to use as much plastic bags and not to throw garbage everywhere in order to keep their surroundings clean. The women took great interest also in this subject and participated with comments and questions. Second Session: Intellectual (Creative / Expressive) Wellness Creative Writing "Story Writing" Lecturer: Elana Bell, Poet, USA Participants: 33 women from the village Jihan Nassar (Palestine) Mr. Jai Bell (India) Lydia Funck (Germany) Ilse Brugger (Switzerland) Each of us is full of stories and poems that is what Elana said to the women. We have all seen and experienced much in our lives--as mothers, as daughters, as human beings--all of which provides a rich wellspring to write from. In this workshop Elana taught the women how to read and discuss their poems and their stories. She also taught them how to respond to those stories and feelings by writing poems and stories from their own unique perspective. Wednesday, 25 March 2009-03-28 Workshop: Health Wellness Children's Health / When there is no Doctor… Lecturer: Dr. Date, General Doctor, (Holland) Participants: 25 women from the village Jihan Nassar, (Palestine) Lydia Funck, (Germany) Ilse Brugger, (Switzerland) Pat Westwater-Jong (USA) Dr. Date began his workshop by asking the women how many children each of them have, what sort of sickness they suffer or suffered in the past. Then he went into explaining the reasons for those children sickness and how they may arise and how we may prevent them. Dr. Date also talked about some of the children born diseases that may happen through close marriages. Dr. Date also explained to the women how to achieve a good balanced dietary for all members of the family and how to maintain healthy eating habits. Another part of Dr. Date workshop was about first aid and some medical advices for the women in emergences. The women benefited a lot from this workshop and left home with many new and valuable ideas and information. Thursday, 26 March 2009 First Session: Health Wellness Women's Health / Pregnancy Lecturer: Dr. Date, General Doctor, (Holland) Participants: 23 women from the village Jihan Nassar, (Palestine) Lydia Funck, (Germany) Ilse Brugger , (Switzerland) Pat Westwater-Jong (USA) Helen and Keith Clark (UK) In this workshop Dr. Date talked about different topics that are essential for women's health and especially for pregnant women. He spoke about the women reproductive system, menstruation, womb problems, fertilization, infertility and pregnancy diets. This workshop was very enlightening and so educational for all the women who attended. Second Session: Emotional Wellness Relieve Anxiety, Depression, Improve Mood, Confidence, Hopefulness Lecturer: Dr. Rick Martin, Family Counsellor, (USA) Participants: 27 women from the village Jihan Nassar (Palestine) Pat Westwater-Jong (USA) Helen and Keith Clark (UK) Lydia Funck (Germany) Ilse Brugger (Switzerland) Dr. Rick explained the importance of emotional wellness in our lives and how to be connected with our emotions, and being able to name and understand them, and knowing how to handle them, whatever they may be. He also talked about our negative and positive emotions and how we can learn new behaviors for challenging our emotional situations. The women were enthusiastic to learn more about emotional wellness so another workshop was scheduled for Dr. Rick to meet with the women and talk more about this topic. The second workshop was also a success. Saturday, 27 March 2009 First Session: Social and Health Wellness Caring for our Elderly Diet and Hygiene, Social Relations, Psychological Conditions Lecturer: Mrs. Itemad Fanoun, Health Educator, Medical Relief Society, (Palestine) Participants: 15 women from the village Jihan Nassar, (Palestine) Lydia Funck, (Germany) Ilse Brugger , (Switzerland) Social wellness involves building healthy, nurturing and supportive intimate relationships as well as fostering a general connection with everyone around us. It’s also about learning how to balance our social life with our personal life. Mrs Fanoun talked about elderly care and more specific about health care, social care and emotional care for our senior citizens. She also gave advices to the women about common elderly diseases and their special diets. As for the elderly personal hygiene, Mrs Fanoun introduced ways to encourage our seniors to maintain their personal hygiene and administer their own personal care. A good personal hygiene for the elderly will not only promote mental well-being, it will also promote physical health. Each of the women had some experience to tell and appreciated all kind of information. Second Session: Nutrition Wellness Food Processing and Manufacturing Lecturer: Mrs. Adla Taha Ali, Agricultural Relief Center, Bethlehem (Palestine) Participants: 15 women from the village Jihan Nassar, (Palestine) Lydia Funck, (Germany) Ilse Brugger , (Switzerland) Home food preservation remains an important and popular cultural activity. Mrs Adla Taha talked about the importance of home food preservation in the Palestinian culture and explained many ways and methods for food preservation. She also spoke about food safety concerns when processing and preserving home food. She advised the women to maintain a small garden or even a pottery and plant it with different kinds of herbs, fruits and vegetables thus the family become self supportive. Since this subject is very important for most Palestinian women, I think it will be a good idea to have it as a regular class in our yearly educational program. A word to be said

Home

Tent of Nations

Daher's Vineyard

Facilities

Activities

Events

Programs

Guest Book

Support us

Contact us

People

Building

Bridges
Text Box: Phone: 972 (2) 274 3071 / Fax: 972 (2) 276 7446 E-mail: tnations@p-ol.com / Info@tentofnations.org Text Box: Contact us Tent of Nations / Atan Street 17 / P.O.Box 28 / Bethlehem - Palestine

Tent of Nations

ÎÜÜÜíãÜÜÜÜÉ ÇáÜÜÜÔÚÜÜÜÜæÈ
Text Box: The Third Annual Women’s Week Report 23-28 March 2009 Environmental Wellness