Building bridges: Shurush to launch a new microcredit loan program
Fall 2005 will mark the one-year anniversary of Shurush's inaugural microloan program with the East Jerusalem YMCA. As this milestone approaches, Shurush is very excited to announce that, this summer, we issued a request for proposals (RFP) to Palestinian microfinance, educational, non-governmental, and other community development institutions to apply to Shurush for a no-interest loan and/or grant to facilitate the "Development and Management of an Innovative and High-Impact Job-Creation Program in the West Bank and/or Gaza." Shurush's goal is to provide one microfinance institution with a loan and/or grant to create new employment opportunities by supporting innovative loan programs in underserved areas in the West Bank and/or Gaza. In particular, Shurush wants to focus on improving the lives of young men and women (under the age of 35), who have been particularly affected by the lack of employment prospects in the current economy.

Shurush has received proposals from Palestinian microfinance institutions; our next step will be to conduct on-site interviews with these microfinance institutions. In the coming issues of The Roots Report, we look forward to keeping our donors -- without whom this new microloan fund would not be possible -- our colleagues, our allies, and our friends updated on the development of Shurush's second microloan program partnership. A special thanks to our colleagues in the microfinance field both in the United States and in the West Bank/Gaza who provided invaluable feedback on the content and dissemination of the RFP. We are truly grateful for your expertise and time; when we complete the selection process, we look forward to sharing our excitement with you.
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Shurush's $2 Campaign tally: Our goal of raising $20,000 is within reach
Between 50 percent and 70 percent of the nearly 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live on less than $2 per day -- below the World Bank's globally defined poverty line. On the twenty-second day of April -- 4.22, Shurush put this number to work by launching an online drive for Palestinian entrepreneurs at http://www.Shurush.org. Starting with just $2, we have raised $15,000 toward our goal of $20,000 to launch a new microcredit loan program in the West Bank and/or Gaza. Shurush would like to thank its generous donors for believing in the power of microfinance to help unemployed Palestinians return to work. Thank you for helping Shurush to realize its goals and for helping Palestinian entrepreneurs to realize theirs.

But as a new nonprofit organization, Shurush still has a long way to go in order to meet our goals and to help Palestinian entrepreneurs to realize theirs.

We need to raise an additional $5,000-$8,000 to put toward the grant and/or loan and to cover the administrative and travel expenses necessary to get launch this new partnership program. Due to our small size and limited overhead expenses, all donations directly support our loan program and related administrative expenses.

Every donation counts. And every donation to Shurush is matched, dollar for dollar, by our angel donor.

Shurush receives contributions online via Network for Good, the Internet’s leading charitable resource. Shurush is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; all donations are tax-deductible. If you have a question about donating or to learn more about our programs, please feel free to email us at info@shurush.org.
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Ask the expert: the Palestinian Microfinance Network's Samir Barghouthi to answer your questions
In the April issue of The Roots Report, Shurush spoke with Kelly Hattel, director of the MicroFinance Network, who answered the question "How do microfinanced entrepreneurs compare with entrepreneurs who start their own small businesses with start-up funds from family and/or friends?" In the "Ask the expert" section of the next issue of The Roots Report, Shurush will interview Palestinian Microfinance Network chairman Samir Barghouthi about the current Palestinian microfinance climate. Submit your questions about Palestinian microfinance to info@shurush.org and put the "Ask the expert" in the subject header. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Ear to the ground: current stats
-	Before the second intifada began in September 2000, Bethlehem residents relied overwhelmingly on the tourism sector. Approximately 18 percent of the waged workers in urban Bethlehem were employed in hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, the production of traditional and religious handicrafts and olive wood carvings, and travel and tour guide agencies.
-	Bethlehem's tourism sector has suffered a decline: In 2000, a monthly average of 91,726 tourists entered Bethlehem; for the first ten months of 2004, only 7,249 entered the city monthly.
-	Between September 2004 and November 2004, a total of 28 hotels, 240 olive wood and mother-of-pearl workshops, and 50 restaurants had closed.
-	The cottage industries run by women producing souvenirs and handicrafts have closed. With few alternative work opportunities, many women fell out of the labor force completely. In a November 11, 2004, interview, the mayor of the city of Beit Jala estimated that approximately 200 families in his city, which is part of urban Bethlehem, had been engaged in olive wood carving and embroidery cottage industries. These petty industries have stopped producing, and now people resort to any casual work they can find.
Source: The United Nations publication "Costs of Conflict: The Changing Face of Bethlehem," published in December 2004 by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in the Middle East (UNSCO). top

In the next issue of The Roots Report
- Building bridges: Update on Shurush's new microcredit loan program
- Ask the expert: the Palestinian Microfinance Network's Samir Barghouthi answers your questions about Palestinian microfinance

 

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