Holding a Trust

This week we held a workshop with all of our local partners. We wanted to gather everyone so we could talk about more efficient ways to use MCC's resources here and find better ways to network among partners. Things went really well. Lots of both our Muslim and Christian partners showed up, and everyone offered a lot of helpful insights into how MCC can better work here in Israel and Palestine.

One of the projects MCC has been funding is wastewater treatment. ARIJ, one of our local partners, has developed units to treat wastewater that can be put on the roofs of houses; they have one at their facility and they water their garden with it. Water as a resource in general, and access to water in light of the policies of the Israeli government, are both issues on the minds of a lot of people here. Being able to assist in providing water to communities meets a direct need.

One of the biggest impressions we left the workshop with was the sense that we are taking care of a trust here as MCC's representatives. We broke into working groups to discuss MCC's strengths and weaknesses working with the partners. One of the main themes that came out of the working groups was that MCC's workers here always interact with others with humility and kind-heartedness. Since we've only been here two months, I'm sure they weren't talking about us; we understand that we are enjoying the reputation of those that have worked here before us, and we're laying a foundation for whoever will come after us. It's one of the most beautiful things to be told that one of MCC's greatest strengths here is that representatives always come with humility and a willingness to follow the lead of the local partners. Multiple times it was mentioned that the people here appreciate the transparency of MCC and the fact that we don't send workers with an agenda, but rather with instructions to help wherever we are able; it's powerful to see the affects a mutual exchange of knowledge has as opposed to imposing our values and methods on our partners.