The An Najah CSC, founded in 1999, grew out of the desire to adopt the rights-based community practice model, developing a true human rights advocacy organization in Nablus.
From the time it opened its doors in 1999, the CSC has sought to ensure community participation, broken down into three levels: First, organizers had community members as active decision makers. Second, programs were to be driven by volunteers, and third, that beneficiaries must be directly involved in solving their own problems.
Early goals included raising awareness on issues of human and social rights as well as those with special needs; studying community needs and the ability of available services to meet those needs; and development of programs and activities to increase participation of all groups in community life, with the aim of creating a healthy civil society in an changing climate.
Starting out with five programs, CSC has grown to offer 24, reaching thousands in the Nablus community each year and advancing rights across the Nablus Governorate.
The programs are offered by the following units:
- Supportive Education
- Open-Door
- Integrating the Disabled
- The GoodWill Forum
- Housing Support
- Volunteer and Community Service
- Support for the Elderly
- Psychosocial Support
The CSC works to empower the weakest members of Nablus society through the promotion of rights awareness and action, furnishing citizens with the tools and encouragement necessary to become self-reliant, and to advocate for their own rights and those of the community at large.
The CSC works alongside the community to help them meet their basic needs and to develop solutions to their social and economic problems. The CSC has continued to provide services through difficult times, when closures and violence heightened existing social problems. The CSC, out of necessity, has offered direct assistance to those in dire need, beyond its rights advocacy work. This direct assistance has been provided in coordination with the Palestinian Social Affairs, Education, Housing and other Ministries, providing models for government service delivery implementation as funds become available.
bilal_hs [at] yahoo [dot] com (Bilal Salameh)
Director, An Najah Community Service Centre (CSC), Nablus, Palestine
Bilal became the director of the An Najah CSC after completing the MMEP fellowship program in 2002. Subsequently, he was appointed Dean of Students at An Najah National University, while remaining actively engaged as a board member of the CSC and in MMEP. He has returned to direct the CSC and was a driving force in the establishment of the mobile centre in the Nablus region.
