Hope in the Face of Middle East's Despair

Tim Kennedy's work has taken him to many difficult countries during the past 15 years. Despite the challenges, he is enthusiastic about working for Mercy Corps in the West Bank. Photo: Robert L. Kellett/Mercy Corps

Iraq. Angola. Somalia . . .

The list rolls off of his tongue like a who's who of troubled countries, a modern day catalogue of violence and despair.

Congo. Uganda. Yemen . . .

For most, these are places that exist only in newspaper headlines or on the nightly news, surreal images and peoples moving in and out the media spotlight faster than the blink of an eye.

For Tim Kennedy, however, these countries are all too real. They are among the long list of places that he has called home during the past 15 years he has spent as a relief and development worker. These are the places where Kennedy has experienced both the best and worst of humanity. These are countries where he has assisted people during the height of war, where he has lent his help to refugee families forced to flee to uninhabitable tracks of land in the dessert and where he has worked to preserve historic landmarks from ruin.

Now, Kennedy is planning to add one more difficult locale to the list: the West Bank.

Kennedy will be leaving for the Middle East in the next few weeks to head up Mercy Corps' newest initiative in the West Bank, the Job Opportunity through Basic Services (JOBS) program.

What does Kennedy think about working in the Middle East at a time of heightened insecurity and fears?

"I am quite comfortable with going there. There is a lot to be done and I am very enthusiastic about Mercy Corps' program and very enthusiastic about the future of the region," he says.

After a few minutes of talking with Kennedy it is apparent that it is his unwavering optimism and passion for helping those in need that have driven him throughout the years. And it will be these traits that will carry him forward as he establishes Mercy Corps' program in the West Bank.

The goal of the 30-month JOBS program is to create new economic opportunities in the West Bank, while also improving the school and education infrastructure of the territory. In addition to repairing crumbling and damaged schools, Mercy Corps and its local partners, Panorama and the Center for Engineering and Planning (CEP), will be working with Parent Associations to encourage community involvement in education. The program will also provide vocational training to women in the region.

"This is a very exciting program to me because we are supporting education which is an issues that I know is very dear to the Palestinian people. Over the years the Palestinians have not had much to give to their children, but they have made sure that their children receive an education," Kennedy says.

Kennedy adds that the population growth in the West Bank is one of the highest in the world which is placing a strain on the existing schools in the region and is making school infrastructure improvements even more critical.

For now, Kennedy will be the lone international member of the program's staff. He won't be alone though. As is their custom, he and his wife will have their two sons - age seven and ten - with them.

"It is a fabulous educational opportunity for them," Kennedy says. "It exposes them to different cultures and ideas. It shows them that our world is really just one world and that there are good people everywhere."