IT could be said ‘love was in the air’ for supporters of the Saddleworth Palestine Women’s Scholarship Fund who met for a heart-shaped walk from Greenfield to Diggle.
The solidarity stroll on May 22 raised more than £1,000 towards the scholarship fund to support women’s university education in Palestine.
Around 30 supporters met at the Satellite Centre on Wellington Road and separated into two groups. One group walked from Greenfield, along the bridleway in Uppermill and through the hamlets of Butterhouses and Diglea to the Diggle Hotel. The other followed the canal from Greenfield to the same destination.
They each returned the opposite way to the Satellite Centre for afternoon tea and cake and an opportunity to buy Palestinian goods and locally donated conserves and preserves.
More supporters gathered to hear an informative talk by Jacqui Greenfield and Anne Webster who recently returned from a trip to Palestine. They recounted the resilience of the Palestinians who suffer day-to-day struggles in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Anne explained: “Palestinians never get planning permission and consequently live in haphazard housing with no green spaces and parks for their children.”
Speaking about East Jerusalem in particular, she added: “You can see how the settlements divide up the city and make it extremely difficult for Palestinians to travel around.
“Random road blocks that can spring up anywhere and the annexation and expansion wall, that weaves its way through East Jerusalem, mean it can take hours to travel a few miles.”
However, messages from the students describe how they motivate themselves to study and continue.
In the charity’s annual report, Amal Abdularim Ashour who is studying to be a pharmacist, describes her studies as ‘the only way to survive and build my future’.
Zikraa Ezat Abu Swireh also studying pharmacy, details how the Covid-19 pandemic affected their family economically and emotionally and the Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip in May last year made things even worse.
She said: “We were in an emotional state of fear and panic. With the lack of tranquility and sleep and the fear of losing our lives or one of our family members, we suffered psychologically.”
They are amongst the 68 young women in Gaza who have been granted much-needed scholarships this academic year alongside seven in the West Bank.
Jacqui, Group Treasurer, told the Saddleworth Independent: “I was deeply affected by my visit and was pleased to be able to share the voices of some of the incredible people we met.
“It has renewed my determination to raise funds for scholarships for women in Palestine. It was fantastic to get such great support at our fundraiser.
“We received a lot of donations too from people who could not be with us on the day and additional contributions back at the Satellite Centre towards the afternoon’s proceedings.”
The Saddleworth Palestine Women’s Scholarship Fund committee members were delighted by the continued generous response of their supporters.
Michele Abendstern, one of the event organisers said: “We have been raising funds for the Saddleworth PWSF for about ten years. It is really uplifting to see the support for what we do grow over these years.”
• For anyone wishing to still donate you do so online: https://tinyurl.com/yvjexctx
• For more information about the Scholarship Fund email saddleworth.pwsf@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.
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