The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) West Bank and Gaza Mission Director Amy Tohill-Stull announced three new grants under the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA) Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF) on Wednesday in Jerusalem.
According to USAID, "These grants, totaling over $6.5 million, will support people-to-people peacebuilding effort of MEPPA, bringing together Palestinians and Israelis to work on issues of common interest."
The programs include a $1 million, two-year "Making Peace" activity implemented by Reut USA to connect Israelis and Palestinian Authority Arabs and leverage engineering innovations and additive manufacturing tools, like 3D prosthetic printing, to create and disseminate affordable solutions for the elderly and disabled.
"Making Peace will help both societies and the region create foundations for strong people-to-people relations, and build deep personal, professional, and institutional connections, all of which are essential for policy change and a two-state solution," USAID explained.
The second project, the "Palestinian-Israeli Specialist Nursing Hub," will be implemented over the course of two years by Project Rozana and includes a $1 million dollar nursing program that uses a systematic approach to cross-border cooperation as a form of health diplomacy and a way to improve health delivery. The project will engage nurses from leading Palestinian Authority and Israeli healthcare institutions as practitioners and trainers. Through seminars, real-time consultation, and regular case-sharing between participating Israeli and Palestinian nurses, the program aims to improve health care for patients at facilities in the Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Israel and build crossborder relationships between nurses.
Finally, an award of $4.5 million will be given to Our Generation Speaks to support the three-year "Next Generation Accelerator" activity. This program aims to create a generation of Israeli and Palestinian Authoiy leaders who have the skills, motivation, and networks to see beyond conflict and build an entrepreneurial community committed to a more peaceful shared future. This activity offers an intensive three-month entrepreneurship training and follow-on support for over 120 Palestinian Authority and Israeli youth fellows who will build personal connections through their work together.
Also on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides, USAID/West Bank and Gaza Mission Director Amy Tohill-Stull, and MEPPA Partnership for Peace Fund Board Chair George Salem met with representatives from each of the current MEPPA grantees in Jerusalem to celebrate progress during the first year of programming under the groundbreaking MEPPA legislation.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implements MEPPA programs to promote people-to-people peacebuilding and grassroots economic cooperation. These programs advance shared community-building, peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinian Authority Arabs through sectors of common concern, including health care, technology, economic growth, women’s empowerment, and the environment. MEPPA grantees represent a diverse range of Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations.
Following the discussion, Ambassador Nides, Board Chair Salem, and Mission Director Tohill-Stull gave remarks on the success of the programs to date and expressed their excitement for the new grants USAID announced this morning.
“My friend Nita Lowey wrote and championed MEPPA to build more connections between Israelis and Palestinians as a foundation for a two-state solution. I’m so impressed with the organizations funded by the MEPPA Partnership for Peace Fund and their commitment to peace,” said Ambassador Thomas Nides.
“What’s most exciting about these programs is that they encourage Israelis and Palestinians to collaborate to solve problems that affect their daily lives and those of their neighbors while at the same time building connections that make achieving a peaceful future more concrete.”