Amazing Volunteer Program

My name is Nizar Farsakh. I am a seventeen year old Palestinian American who has
participated in the Volunteer and Teach English program at the Excellence Center. The
Excellence Center has given me an extremely positive experience here in Hebron. Thanks to the Excellence Center I have been given the opportunity to participate in a large variety of activities during my stay in Hebron, such as insightful lectures given by staff, introductions to Palestinian art forms, and community bonding events. These activities centered around establishing a deeper understanding of Palestinian culture and their current situation under occupation. In addition to these multiple activities the Excellence Center provided me with
many opportunities to practice my spoken Arabic with staff members, which greatly helped
improve my Arabic during my stay in Hebron.
The environment of the Excellence Center is extremely positive and constructive. During
my time volunteering I worked with the most wonderful students who truly wanted to learn
English and learn more about the multitude of volunteers working them. These students helped sculpt a very positive environment for both students and volunteers. In addition to this, staff members and other volunteers created a positive working environment by taking time to know each other outside of the classroom. Often, I have found myself conversing with other volunteers and staff members for hours after the center closed and lessons ended. The
Excellence Centers positive environment greatly contributed to making my stay in Hebron
extremely enjoyable.
Besides the multiple activities planned by the Excellence Center for volunteers, the
Center prepared multiple trips for Volunteers. These trips included trips to Palestine market places, tours of the Old City of Hebron, and other adventures in the Hebron area. Overall, these trips where extremely insightful and gave volunteers the opportunity to see first hand what life is like in Hebron. In addition to these Excellence Center planed trips, volunteers often got
together on their own to plan their own trips over weekends to places like Jerusalem and
Bethlehem.
Living in Hebron was extremely enjoyable, I lived in a small apartment with two other
volunteers who where extremely pleasant to stay with. Over the first few days of my stay in Hebron many misconceptions of the place where easily dismissed. The people here where extremely nice and I even made friends with many of the shop owners on the street we lived on. In addition to this, I had absolutely no concern over my safety while I was In the Palestinian sections of the city.
Over the course of my stay I found that my favorite aspect of Hebron was its people.
The people here are extremely nice and love to talk to you and get to know you. The hospitality of the people of Hebron is unmatched and you’ll often find yourself invited for a cup of coffee by shop owners as you go exploring in the city.
As for my favorite memory of my time here in Hebron, I believe it was when I was given
the opportunity to visit the Al Fawwar refugee and get teach English to the amazing children there. These children where extremely nice and loved learn about us volunteers and play fun games with us. I greatly enjoyed teaching in Al Fawwar and other villages near Hebron, and they are among my greatest memories from my stay in Hebron.
After visiting Palestine and working in the Excellence Center my lasting Impression of
Palestine and Its people is of an extremely gentle and kind people living under a harsh and brutal occupation. I recommend the Excellence Center to everyone as I believe that through working in the Excellence Center you are given the opportunity to truly learn about the people here and the state of Palestine.
Overall, my experience at the Excellence Center was extremely eye opening and I
recommend for everyone to visit Palestine.