About Us
We serve Palestinian refugees in the West Bank primarily living in UN-run camps. 1for3 is a Massachusett’s-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-political organization.
We want Palestinians to achieve their full human rights on par with those enjoyed by other communities around the world. We work towards this goal by partnering with community-run organizations in UN-run Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank on four specific needs: health, education, water, and food.
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 & from which we learn.
The "3" in our name represents our commitment to three crucial pillars: environment (water and food), health, and education. We leverage the financial and professional resources of incredible people in the Boston area and around the US. These supporters provide funds for programs, technical skills for training and planning, and solidarity that humanizes the situation of Palestinians and Palestinian refugees.
Throughout our programs in health, environment & 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.
Our Board
Rene La Pointe-Jameson, Naglaa El-Abadi, Mohammed Bachouti, Carina Kurban, Andrew Kurban, John Durant.
We Are Growing
The work that 1for3 & 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 & partners’ insights. Here is a brief overview of where 1for3 has been & where it is going. We hope you will join us.
2013-2017: When we started in 2013 our focus was on supporting residents in two UN-run camps to have better drinking water. Through our water programs we developed testing & advocacy protocols, training labs & fixed polluting infrastructure.
2017-2021: In 2017, we added to our water program three others -- food, health, education. Through them we focused on house-based gardening, community healthcare for chronically ill patients & 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.
2021-2024: During the Covid pandemic we ramped up our Health for Palestine (H4P) program to meet local needs. Soon after through our education program we started a kindergarten, Zahrat Al-Yasmeen, which serves 50 children. Our food efforts built on earlier work by training community members to use hydroponic growing techniques. This led to the local manufacture & distribution of micro-growing towers & building three hydroponic gardens. These gardens are used by H4P to improve chronic patient health while also increasing food sovereignty by distributing Palestinian-grown produce.
2024-Future: The war in Gaza & increased military & settler violence in the West Bank has caused wide-spread deaths, imprisonment, torture, scarcity & trauma for Palestinian refugees. Despite these hardships we are continuing to expand our programs with our partners. Zahrat Al-Yasmeen kindergarten is expanding to enroll 50% more students. Our health program is starting a program to care for developmental delay in infants & children. The Pediatric Care Project will eventually work in three camps with a total population served of 50,000. Building on our work with patients facing chronic illness we are supporting a local gym to update lifestyles, creating an in-camp clinic to increase patient access & expanding care for diabetes sufferers.