Heather Mangrum's blog

“Wow! Look at this turn out – there are so many people here today!”

Elena Buryan, Mercy Corps’ Acting Mission Director for West Bank-Gaza, was at once surprised and encouraged as we entered the packed courtyard of the Doura Vocational Secondary School for Girls in West Bank Wednesday morning.

Elena Buryan addresses the crowd of students, parents and local business leaders at the Doura School Career Day. Photo: Heather Mangrum/Mercy Corps

The Doura School is a technical vocation school for young women offering intensive instruction and apprentices in software engineering and development, electronics, and other skilled areas in great demand in Palestine’s growing ICT and ICT-using industries.

We were there for the school’s Career Day, which featured Elena as one of the keynote speakers, and the sight of hundreds of excited parents, current and former students, community supporters, area business leaders and local media was indeed amazing.

Elena was joined by representatives from Palestine’s Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Labor, as well as the school’s administration, staff and students from the two-year old school for a kick off celebration for a busy day of job recruitment sessions and classroom tours.

ICT is the fastest growing sector in Palestine and the demand for skilled professionals is increasing rapidly as the sector emerges as the industry that can give the conflict-ridden territory the much needed economic boost it needs. At the same time, unemployment, especially among the expanding youth population, is one of the most urgent issues facing Palestine today. Through support from the European Commission, Mercy Corps’ work with the Doura School serves the urgent needs of both youth and business. A vital component in the Palestine’s economic development strategy, these efforts were repeatedly acknowledged that morning by the government officials and school administration.

The school's principal speaks with Elena about the progress of the program. Photo: Heather Mangrum/Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is also helping to redefine the face of Palestine’s labor market. The tech industry is not a traditional or familiar one for most women there and, while the perception of women in the work force changing, opportunities are often limited to gender-traditional jobs. With the Doura School, Mercy Corps is empowering young women with the competitive skills and confidence needed to join the new wave of change that will help develop Palestine’s economy, as well as provide young women with more career options and financial independence.

At the podium, Elena spoke of Mercy Corps’ work with the school, from constructing the well planned campus, classrooms and labs with funding from USAID, to helping to develop its market-driven curriculum and continuing to build the capacity of its staff, bridging the gap between education providers and employers’ needs in the sector. She also offered recommendations for continuing the progress and support for the Palestine National Authority’s comprehensive restructuring of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, including making more loans available for young entrepreneurs to help create even more jobs in the sector.

Her words were met with immense enthusiasm by the parents, businesses, students and government officials present who were clearly ready for more schools like Doura and the promise for the future that would come with them.

But the most heartfelt sentiments came from the many students who, meeting Elena for the first time today, lined up to thank her and Mercy Corps for helping provide the life-changing opportunities they had received. As one 18 year old electronics graduate remarked, “Without this school, I would just be sitting at home.”

That feeling of surprise and encouragement once again took over, revealed in the warm smile on Elena’s face. She in turn thanked the girls for working so hard to make the school such a great success.

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Like most New Yorkers, I LOVE to shop. Never mind baseball — snagging a bag of fantastic finds and super bargains is indeed our city’s favorite pastime.

Yet my knowledge of Fair Trade was mostly limited to the coffee and chocolate displays at Whole Foods. While the jewelry, bags, scarves and baskets on display at the New York Action Center are cute, I never made the Fair Trade connection.

One morning, one of our Battery Park City neighbors visited the Action Center and noticed a set of colorful nesting bowls on display. Noticed is actually too mild a term: she went wild over it! On hearing the story of the bowls — made by South African women out of discarded newspapers and painted in traditional Shwe Shwe patterns, with proceeds supporting living wages for women artisans and benefiting AIDS education in poor South African communities — she immediately whipped out her credit card to purchase the set.

At the trunk show, one customer said, “I learned so much and came away with a lot of beautiful things. This is much more fun than just writing a check!” Photo: Heather Mangrum/Mercy Corps

“These are amazing! And the story behind them is so incredible,” she noted, trying on a necklace from Cambodia she eventually added to her purchase. “I had no idea you had stuff like this here.”

“Hmmm…shopping as an action,” I thought. And with that a Fair Trade Trunk Show was born.

As part of a month-long celebration of World Fair Trade Day, the Action Center took its selection of Fair Trade, eco-friendly fashion and home accessories on the road. The goal: to show New Yorkers that the simple act of shopping can be a meaningful, highly impactful action in the fight against world hunger and poverty.

We partnered with Counter, a trendy vegetarian bistro in the East Village which specializes in dishes made with sustainably-grown ingredients and features an extensive selection of organic wines, beers and cocktails. Gourmet food, environmentally-friendly drinks, and stylish Fair Trade fashion — this was conscious consumerism at its finest!

Dozens of shoppers turned out for this three-hour cocktail event including supporters of the Action Center, Mercy Corps donors and new friends from the neighborhood and around the city.

My friend Leslie came by to browse for a Mother’s Day gift. Her eyes wandered among the colorful necklaces, bags and hand-woven baskets, but nothing seemed to grab her. Then I showed her one of the reusable market bags. What she saw was a sort of laminated zip-pouch. “What’s that?” she asked, skeptical.

Some of the colorful items that were for sale at the Action Center's Fair Trade Trunk Show. Photo: Heather Mangrum/Mercy Corps

I opened it to reveal a pretty blue and brown batik print cloth bag inside. “Oh wow,” she ventured. “That’s kind of cool.”

I went on to explain that the bag was made from recaptured cotton sarongs and the outer pouch, which serves as a reinforced base when the bag was opened, was made from recycled rice bags covered with the newspaper comics. Small enough to fit in a purse, yet sturdy enough to carry a good day’s shopping, each one-of-a-kind bag features tribal patterns on trend of spring. Each purchase helped provide a living wage for women in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as well as supported programs for street children, at high risk of violence, trafficking and prostitution.

“Sold!”

Later, over a glass of biodynamic Tiamo Sangiovese, Leslie thanked me for inviting her to the event. “This was so much fun and much more than I expected,” she explained. “I had no idea this stuff would be so cool and had such an important impact on the lives of women. What a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day!”

By the end of the evening, the New York Action Center raised $800 to support its programming — as well as dozens of new names to add to its Friends List — and a heightened, enthusiastic awareness of what the Action Center has to offer. Shoppers came away with bags full of fantastic finds, a great feeling, and most important, a better understanding of how simple choices can make an important difference in the fight against hunger and poverty.

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