About us
Working with partners in the West Bank for over ten years, 1for3, a section 501(c)(3) registered non-profit in Massachusetts, has identified four dominant challenges in the everyday lives of Palestinian refugees. Like families anywhere, the intersection of water, food, health, and education is critical for the everyday well being of refugees. Living under occupation exacerbates challenges to preserving the robust relationship between water, food, health, and education that is already under threat in camp conditions. 1for3 works at the intersection of these four components. We call this intersection the Water - Food - Health - Education Nexus, and our programs support these four areas of need.
Our Development Approach
At 1for3, we make a long-term difference in the lives of Palestinian refugees. Focusing on a limited number of communities with strong local organizations, we build relationships of trust. Every relationship is unique, which we value and from which we learn. Throughout our programs in food, water, health, and education we ask, “Do Palestinians have access to international levels of food, health, water, education?” If we find that our partners do not we want to know why. Then, we work together to change it. Palestinian refugees, like all other people around the world, are equal to everyone else, whether they reside in Tel Aviv, Seattle, or Tokyo.
1for3 does not discriminate based on color, race, gender identity and/or expression, ethnicity, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, or disability.
We Are Growing
The work that 1for3 and its partners do has changed over time. We are continuing to update what we do and how we do it in accordance with our values, mission, and partners’ insights. Here is a brief overview of where 1for3 has been and where it is going. We hope you will join us in our new efforts.
2012-2017: When we started in 2012 our focus was on supporting residents in two UN-run camps to have better drinking water. Through our water programs we developed testing and advocacy protocols, training labs, and fixed polluting infrastructure.
2017-2021: In 2017, we added to our water program three others -- food, health, and education. Through them we focused on house-based gardening, community healthcare for chronically ill patients, and training in medical skills for young people. Along with water, we called these four areas our Nexus. They were used to provide specific solutions to community-outlined problems.
2021-: Now, we are changing again to meet the needs of the people we serve. Palestinian society, including Palestinians living in UN-run camps, is dynamic. Like others, it is grappling with how to use new technology, survive the pandemic, and adjust to climate change. Unlike other societies, however, the communities we serve do all of this while being refugees and being militarily occupied, which brings with it violence, degradation, lack of rights, and confinement.
Here is what we are doing. Along with our partners we are adding to our Nexus of programs in water, food, health, and education new ways of working among them. Our goal is to provide holistic support that strengthens the communities we serve. We will continue to focus on building capacity, partnering with local groups who are accountable to the people they serve, and developing long-term approaches. One of these is setting up health and environmental research initiatives that will aid people for a generation. Another is establishing farming labs that bring together camp-based gardeners with land-based Palestinian farmers for training and growing.
As much as possible we will seek to move from people receiving our services through programs to involving them more robustly in their conception, development, implementation, and evaluation.
Palestinian Refugees: Partnering with Palestinian refugees living in UN-run camps will remain a pillar of our efforts. We believe that residents of UN-run Palestinian refugee camps are important to the wider Palestinian society and are unique within it. The camps were forged out of disaster and longing, and their residents endure economic, social, and political hardships. Oftentimes the Israeli occupation is most tortuous to residents of camps. These difficulties mean that residents of UN-run camps build communities that meet the challenges they face. It has also means that these same people are beset by the same problems all society’s face, but have added to them long-term trauma, acute violence, and wider-Palestinian society neglect.
We believe the camps are a source of strength for our partnerships.