Jun 2, 2009

Westover Junior Bess Martin Is Inspired To Help a Palestinian Charity

After living in Jordan as an exchange student at the Ahliyyah School for Girls in Amman, Jordan, Bess Martin '10 Is Inspired To Help a Palestinian Charity

After living in Jordan as an exchange student at the Ahliyyah School for Girls in Amman, Jordan, Bess Martin '10 was saddened to learn in late December 2008 of attacks on the Gaza Strip. She said she had gained insight into the problems in the Middle East after living and studying in Jordan for three months. Wanting to help and to take action, she joined forces with the Hashemite Charity Commission's relief organization Help Gaza Now. "I've always been attracted to human rights," said Bess. Help Gaza Now is part of the Hashemite Charity Commission, which is sponsored by the government of Jordan.

Miss Martin's efforts included collecting food and monetary donations from Westover students and faculty and also from local residents at community locations such as the Woodbury Library. With the $800 she raised, she and her mother, Sarah, shopped at Costco to purchase staples as rice, baby formula, and diapers that will be shipped to Gaza. "We now have 20 boxes of items and soon I hope to get them shipped to Gaza," Bess said.

Her connection to the Help Gaza Now charity extends back to her time in the exchange program in Jordan. Through a personal connection that her host family provided her, Bess was able to speak directly with the Secretary General of the Hashemite Charity Commission, who then put her in touch with a mentor in California who is helping her with the logistics of sending the supplies through customs.

While in the Middle East, she visited the West Bank with her family members who traveled from the U.S. to visit her. The West Bank, like Gaza, is part of the Palestinian territories. Bess said her sympathy with the struggles of the Palestinian people arose after meeting and interacting with ordinary people who live in the West Bank. "I really feel strongly about the situation. You mostly hear that Palestinians are terrorists," she said, noting that she wants to change that perception. The young student said she also met many Jordanians during her three months of going to classes and living with a host family while on exchange. "Most people in Jordan are ashamed of terrorists," she remarked, adding that she always felt safe while she was living there.

To prepare for her time in the Middle East, Bess spent a month during summer 2008 studying Arabic at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, where she practiced the language up to six hours a day. Besides feeling satisfaction in helping the war-weary people in Gaza, Bess said she has learned to improve her public speaking and has developed leadership and business skills.

Westover School began an exchange with the Ahliyyah School for Girls in Amman, Jordan in the late 80s after the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan graduated from Westover. Students from Jordan also study at Westover in the program. The exchange was suspended for a couple years during a time of Middle East wars, but has recently been continued. The program, conducted under the auspices of the Royal Palace in Jordan, has proved an exceptional opportunity for students to develop maturity, independence, sensitivity, and an understanding of history and culture.