Just a quick update...

I am way behind on blogging so here is a little catch up... I got back a week ago from Turkey and it was amazing! I have tons of stuff to post from that as well as some pretty comical stuff that will help you get through all the historical stuff. Also this past week we went to see a Bedouin women empowerment group that was really interesting.  So starting with the most recent and getting back to Turkey here are some photos from the trip starting with a little background.

So the trip to get to the bedouin town was really long. It was down in the Negev Desert so we drove about 2 and a half hours and it was definitely the desert because it was really hot! The group we went to see is called SIDREH. The issues that their group focus on have to do with the changes in the way the bedouins are living. Traditionally, as nomads it was the responsibility of women to weave the tents that the families live in as well herd the sheep and goats. As the people are now staying in the same place more and more he women have no way to contribute to the families needs and as most live under the poverty line it is necessary for the women to find work; which is hard because most are illiterate.  Well the rest you can learn from the pictures.

This is our tour guide. She was amazing. She spoke great English and had never left the country. She is 27 and unmarried and is working on her masters in Middle Eastern Studies. She has been working with the group for a while and was really knowledgeable about the issues facing her people. 

One of the ways they help the women is to take one of the sills they already have, weaving and help them to earn money through it. They have completely streamlined the process of making a rug and can finish one is about 7-10 days. This is a picture of one of the women there weaving a rug and we got to watch a whole demonstration on home they make the yarn and weave it. 

This was one of the rugs I liked. They sell the rugs at their showroom as well as stores across israel and on their website. The company is called Lakiya weaving if anyone is interested. A few of the women there will be traveling to New Mexico soon to attend a craftsman show. They were selected from a large group of vendors and for most all of them  it will be their first time out of the country and certainly on a plane. 

Next we visited another smaller village that is an unrecognized group of Bedouins. We were there to learn about the literacy program. The town is just shacks without running water or electricity, even in the small medical clinic. The people there have been unable to get recognized as an actual town so they live on constant fear of the government coming and knocking down their homes. The issue is much more complicated than that but all I can give is the nutshell.  O and those are camels...

The literacy program exists because up until just a few years ago there were no bedouin schools and parents fearing for thier daughters would not send them far away fro school. The result is that almost all the women over 30 are completely illiterate. With the help of the program they learn to read and write Hebrew and Arabic. This way they can have a chance at getting jobs at factories and other places as well as helping to teach their children. As you can tell they are very modest. In their culture usually they do not allow pictures to be taken of their women but they made an exception to us because they are so thankful for the small help our center as given them. 

Isn't this the most precious thing you have ever seen? This little barely a few days old kitten was in a big box of yarn and was still all blind. It was just meowing and it made my heart melt.