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Friends United
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July/August 2008
Scripture
for Living:
Enduring
Hope
By Patricia Edwards-Konic
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” Romans 5:1–5 (RSV)
A sign displayed above the door of the Ramallah Friends Schools (RFS) administration building says, “Education is a cutting sword to ignorance; Education is a bright light that stamps out darkness.”
The current head of the Friends Boys School (FBS), Mahmoud Arma, is himself a 1979 FBS graduate. When interviewed, he responded with five ways he sees the Schools impacting the community:
1. Bringing up well-educated children. Over its history we are talking about thousands of graduates who are educated and it is known that most of the students who finish here go on for a college education.
2. Many of the students who go away for college come back and work and serve their country.
3. We believe the school helps the students to become open-minded and they care for their community and for their society. That’s why I believe many of our students become leaders of the future.
4. Many students become leaders, either professionally or in other fields such as politics. We have political leaders who have graduated from the school; we have ministers in our government who have graduated from the school; we have people who are leading charity organizations in our society who have also been students at the school.
5. Besides having a good academic program and being willing to explore and experiment with new educational methods, this school is seen as a model school in the field of education. That influence, of course, is throughout the whole educational system. And I know for a fact that in the last 10–15 years at least two nongovernmental organizations in the field of education were created as initiatives from the school. The school initiated forming these nongovernmental organizations; hence they are becoming very popular, very active in the field of education.
All of these factors help to keep Palestinians from emigrating and thereby remaining to work and be involved in the country. Joyce Ajlouny, a 1983 graduate and 2004-present RFS director stated:
“So many of your Ramallah elite who send their kids here have said it time and time again that if it weren’t for the Friends Schools they would really be concerned about their children’s education and they would probably be leaving. So in a way, Friends Schools is keeping Palestinians put, and by staying here they are helping the economy, the policy making, the decision making, etc. in the country. And it is important that Friends Schools, indirectly, is taking part in that.
“This is a huge impact on the society. I know for sure, as a parent, if the Friends Schools wasn’t here I wouldn’t know what to do. Maybe Jerusalem, but who wants to cross checkpoints every day? Because we are American citizens I probably would go back to the States, so the Friends Schools is keeping me here
“And the International Baccalaureate (IB) program has really put this school at a competitive platform with universities around the world. That we are an IB school says a lot. Before, our graduates had a Friends Schools diploma, and for universities abroad, they didn’t know what that is. But now when they look at our IB and our scores, they are interested in us.”
Hope has continued to sprout, spread and grow in a difficult place, even during hostile events. The Friends Schools have been among the few constants — a ray of hope and stability in a dark time.
This article is an excerpt from Friends United Press’ new release, Enduring Hope: The Impact of the Ramallah Friends Schools, by Patricia Edwards-Konic. Patricia is the former editor of Quaker Life magazine and now resides in Colorado near her two sons, Mike and Rick.