Our Story

Ten years ago, my brother Noubar and my then fiancé Manar and I had a dream. We wanted to use the principles of nonviolence and love to help our community heal from ongoing trauma.

As we sat around the kitchen table in my tiny apartment, we dreamt of nurturing children caught in the crosshairs of Occupation and communal poverty. We would empower women left out of the economy and support families struggling under tremendous pressure to cope. We would name our dream House of Hope, a movement for Palestinians and by Palestinians.

We knew that our work was desperately needed. All around us we saw our community struggling. The Israeli Separation Wall was slowly surrounding our villages, isolating us from Jerusalem, our cultural and economic lifeline. Our youth began acting more aggressively, sometimes responding with depression and violence to the toxic stress that filled their lives. 

Something had to be done. But we couldn’t do it alone.

We reached out to friends around the world, friends like you who care about the health and wellness of Palestinians in crisis. And you made a huge difference in our lives.

We launched House of Hope Vision school to help children overcome trauma-induced obstacles to learning. Since then, you have helped us transform the lives of thousands. You helped us deliver after school and summer school programs to children who have nowhere to go but the streets. With you, we brought vocational training within reach for Palestinian women trying to start their careers. And you helped young people take responsibility for the society they live in through community organizing around issues that affect them directly. 

Our first students are now young adults who often tell us that House of Hope changed the course of their lives. This success comes from the power of what you stand for: hope and compassion.

You are making a profound difference in our community.

In his poem, “Think Upon Others,” Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote: “And while you think of faraway others, think of yourself and say: I am a candle to this darkness.” Thank you for standing with us.