The Villages Group is a small group of volunteers that has been active on the ground for over twenty years and nurtures its close contact with the villagers.
We live in dark times, and with every day this darkness gets even thicker and darker, as we witness in our daily visits to the South Hebron Hills. The ability of the villagers to answer their minimal life needs is reduced daily, and their need for help only grows.  

This critical situation severely harms education, from elementary school to university. Help in obtaining higher education is one of the realms with which the Villages Group is involved, and in this matter we now need your urgent help.

The villagers of the South Hebron Hills live in shepherd communities. They are trying to hold on to their land, their homes, livelihood and traditional lifestyle in face of the systemic harassment by the Israeli army, police and Civil Administration, beside the daily attacks and violence of the settlers. Our friends there are constantly threatened with dispossession, arrests, violence and fantastic, reasonless fines. 

 
In addition to listening, dialogue and friendship, we find that assisting these villagers in various areas which need assistance even under ‘normal’ occupation conditions – let alone under conditions created after war broke out, conditions that have greatly reduced the ability to find any livelihood on their part. 

Completion of 12 school years in the South Hebron Hills/ Masafer Yatta  is no small feat and sometimes demands an hour or two of walking to school in every direction, in the searing heat of summer and freezing winters, at times with the settlers’ harassment and attacks, and then studying and doing homework with unstable electricity in their life conditions over and under the ground, in caves. Whoever matriculates under such harsh conditions deserves all the support they can get to realize their potential. 

In recent years we began financing higher education for students who complete grade 12.  We re currently support education for a young student from the village of Taban who is in his second year studying veterinary medicine, a profession vitally important in this farming area which presently no veterinary doctor resides in.   

The cost of his studies per semester ranges between $1,000 and $2.000 and we are in need of your help to pay for his studies in the coming year. 

Important note: If you are making a donation, please write to villagesgroup1@gmail.com and state the purpose of your donation. This is the only way for us to keep track and make sure your donation will indeed go to the purpose you wish to donate to.

For  more information on the Villages Group  and the students we support, please visit our website at
https://villagesgroup.wordpress.com/contact-us/
or contact contact us at
villagesgroup1@gmail.com
Thanking you in advance,
Erella, Yair and Ehud on behalf of the Villages Group
 

 With all the gratitude and appreciation in my heart, I write this letter to express how deeply

your support has impacted my life and the lives of many others. You have granted me the

opportunity to continue my studies in veterinary medicine, a dream I am passionately

striving to achieve.

Had it not been for your generous help, I would not have been able to pursue my education,

as I lacked the financial means to cover my university expenses. Your assistance came as a

lifeline at a time when I was in desperate need of hope and continuity.

Your support is not just financial; it is a light that has illuminated my path and a trust that

has inspired me to believe in the kindness still present in this world. You have given me

greater motivation to become a better person and to work tirelessly to serve my community

and repay your kindness in every possible way.

I promise to make the most of this opportunity with dedication and to be worthy of the

responsibility you have entrusted to me. May God bless you with goodness, happiness, and a

light that continues to brighten your lives and those around you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Abdul Rahman