In coordination with Welfare Association (WA) sister organization, WA-UK, and as part of WA support to the public policy, advocacy and legal rights sector, a delegation of Conservative British Members of Parliament (MPs) visited on Tuesday September, 11 (WA) Offices in the Old City of Jerusalem. The delegation was made up of : Mr. Crispin Blunt MP, Opposition Whip, Honorary Chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) and Co-Chairman of the Council for the Advancement of Arab British Understanding (CAABU) and his wife Victoria Blunt; Mr. Hugo Swire MP, Honorary Secretary of CMEC and his wife Sasha Swire; Mr. Hugh Robertson MP, Shadow Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Honorary Treasurer for CMEC; Mr. Andrew Robathan MP, Deputy Chief Whip of Her Majesty's Opposition; Mr. Philip Dunne MP, and his wife Domenica Dunne; Mr. Charles Pitt - Advisor of Crispin Blunt, and; Ms. Laura Hutchins, Director of the Conservative Middle East Council.

Besides visiting WA offices and meeting senior staff, the delegation was introduced to issues and challenges facing Jerusalemites presented by Mr. Adnan Husseini – Advisor to President Abbas on Jerusalem. Later on, the delegation visited Spafford Center – a WA supported center providing holistic services to Palestinian children and currently undergoing comprehensive restoration by WA. The visit ended in a political / social / cultural tour of the Old City of Jerusalem guided by Mr. Albert Aghazirian.

Earlier on, WA has received a delegation of British Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs that visited various WA projects in Jerusalem, Nablus, and Gaza over the course of several days. The delegation included: Ms. Karen Buck (Lab), Commissioner on the London Child Poverty Commission; Ms. Julie Morgan (Lab), Member of Constitutional Affairs and Public Administration Select Committees; Mr. Alistair Carmichael (LD), Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland and Scotland; Mr. Richard Burden (Lab), Chair of the All-Party Britain-Palestine Group; Mr. Martin Linton (Lab), President of Battersea Arts Centre and Chairman of the Governors of Somerset Nursery School, and; Ms. Julia Wickham, Middle East Analyst and Consultant, and Delegation Organiser.

On Monday, September 3, and accompanied by WA Board of Trustees Vice-Chairman Mr. Munib Masri, the British Labour MP delegation visited Nablus Governorate where they met with the Governor, and representatives from several WA partner NGOs including the Deputy Mayor and President of An Najah University. In addition, the delegation visited Hamdi Mango Cultural Center, a project supported by WA and toured the Old City of Nablus.

On Tuesday, September 4, the British Parliamentarians visited the WA Technical Office (OCJRP) in the Old City of Jerusalem where they met with WA partner NGOs to discuss major issues facing Jerusalemites. After Presentation from Mazen Hashweh and Sufian Mushasha, WA Resource Development Director and Program Operation Director, about WA, Dr. Shadia Touqan from WA made a presentation about WA interventions in the Old City aimed at supporting its residents through the restoration and rehabilitation of the historic urban buildings, and through supporting several local NGOs that offer social services to Jerusalemites. Later Ms. Rima Awad from the Palestinian Counseling Center spoke about legal and human rights issues facing Jerusalemites, followed by a presentation by Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, Director of Augusta Victoria Hospital, in which he highlighted the difficulties facing the health care providers and the health sector in Jerusalem.

During their visit to two OCJRP projects sites in Jerusalem supported by WA, the British delegation met with Dr. Jontien Dajani, Director of Spafford Center, who briefed them about the services offered by the Center. In the Palestinian Counseling Center they met with the Director, Ms. Rana Nashashibi, who explained to them the activities and interventions of the Center especially the psychosocial services offered to children and the efforts to improve the environment surrounding them. In conclusion and with the participation of Ms. Jennifer Moorehead from Save the Children UK, the preliminary findings of a joint research undertaken by Save the Children / UK, Palestinian Counseling Center, and WA on the effects of home demolishment on children were shared with the British Delegation.

On Thursday, September 6, the British Parliamentarians accompanied by Ms. Maha Shawwa – WA Gaza Programme Coordinator, visited several WA projects in Gaza. The first project site was Al Beit Assamed Women Society where they were briefed about the Society’s activities in general and the WA support in particular. Later they visited Al Ahli Hospital where Ms. Suheila Tarazi, hospital manager, accompanied them for a tour of the hospital, especially the out patient clinics and the emergency ward both which WA has supported.