RAMALLAH - New Al-Hayat – Ibrahim Abu Kamesh - The National Beverage Company Coca-Cola/Cappy and INJAZ Palestine announced that the Pasmeh o Basmeh project, presented by students of Palestine Polytechnic University, has won the fourth best project at the level of Arab universities that participated in this phase. The project is to rehabilitate the park of Al-Rajaa (Hope) Society for people with mental disabilities affiliated to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Hebron. It aims at providing students with special needs to use facilities that fit their needs.
The announcement came during the concluding ceremony of the fourth stage of the Ripples of Happiness Program, which was organized by NBC and Injaz Palestine yesterday in the Caesar Hotel in Ramallah. It is a training program launched by Coca-Cola Foundation and INJAZ Al-Arab with a view to stimulate social responsibility among university students in order to bring about positive change in their communities. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the students and volunteers who participated in this phase were honored.
The General Manager of NBC Mr. Imad al-Hindi stated that 134 students from different universities and colleges in Palestine have participated in the fourth phase of the Ripples of Happiness this year through six community projects implemented by students under the supervision and training of a group of experienced and efficient professionals from the Palestinian private sector companies. The students have submitted a package of projects designed to contribute to the development of appropriate solutions and ways to develop small communities.
On her part, Mrs. Randa Salameh, General Manager of INJAZ Palestine commended the partnership with the NBC, and praised its continued support for INJAZ programs in particular. She also thanked all institutions, companies and individuals for the training and guidance provided to the students for the success of their ideas and initiatives.
Mrs. Salameh confirmed that the Ripples of Happiness has endeavored to promote the culture and spirit of social responsibility among the university students, motivate them to take the initiative and provide creative solutions that benefit their community. She pointed out that the process of selecting the winning project was based on the evaluation of specific and clear criteria after the submission of reports by students on the completion of their projects, determining the advantages provided to the local community by such projects and integrating the community in the search for and implementation of solutions .
Mrs. Salameh added: “The program included training college students on research, how to identifying deficiencies and priorities in their communities, how to develop and plan for the appropriate solutions, making proposals to win support and funding, learning the arts of social communication, teamwork, gaining skills in information technology, marketing, public relations, and introducing students to inspiring examples that enhance their abilities to implement projects with positive impact in their communities. The training was provided in collaboration with a group of qualified and experienced trainers from various companies and institutions."
She explained that the submitted projects included: “Lesh Ma Tiqra, a project for a group of students from the Palestine Technical College for Girls in Ramallah, trained By Zeid Kilani of Palestine Cellular Communications Co. (Jawwal); “Ento Al - Asel” project for students from Al Quds Open University in Qalqilya, trained by Rania El-Aalem; “Sahabt Amal” project for the girl students of the Faculty of Hajja Andaleeb El-Amad of Nursing and Midwifery in Nablus, trained by Mukhles Samara ; “Nos Ragheef” for a group of students of Al Quds Open University in Tulkarem, trained by Ruba Shadeed; “Irsom Ibtisameh” for the students of Quds Open University in Jenin, trained by Loay Tafesh of Jenin Cinema, and “Pasmeh o Basmeh” project for the students of Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron, trained by Lena Hamouri from Hamouri Fashion.
