annual report 2012 - abraham path initiative

7/27/2019 Annual Report 2012 - Abraham Path Initiative

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I only more people would walk and meet each other walking! When walkingyou are

invariably invited to share a cup o tea and o ten reshly baked bread: hospitality and

smiles, and common humanity.

Erika and Roger Salmon London


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CONTENT

Report from our Chair 4

Donations 6Story Young leaders open new path stages in Turkey 8

Story Walking the path every week 10

Story Path operator nominated for reponsible tourism award 12

Story Women from the path 14

Story Inspired to walk across Turkey 15

Story Photo competition 16

The path around the world 18

Next steps on the path 20

In the media 23

About us Board of Directors 24

Join the Abraham Path Initiative 25

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We are proud to report that, despite the turmoil in the Middle East

2012. In fact, the number of walkers overall on the path has increasedas have the number of local guides and the number of homestays,creating much-needed income for villagers. New sections of the path

have opened in Turkey and in Jordan. Two books have beenpublished covering parts of Abraham Path in the highlands of northernJordan and in the West Bank. Globally, a new Friends of the Pathchapter has opened in Spain and more than 4,000 people participatedin our Brazil Chapters annual Caminho de Abrao run with over sixtymedia pieces airing about this event alone. 5.4 million viewers tunedin to view Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour on ABCNews on December 21st. The special featured a 9 minute segment onAbraham Path as an unprecedented initiative to break down barriersand foster communication in one of the most divided regions of theworld.

Moving into 2013, we have made some exciting additions to ourleadership team: Stefan Szepesi, a native of the Netherlands withyears of experience as a diplomat, economist, guidebook author, andwalking in the Middle East has joined us as Executive Director. Wenow also have a Regional Director based in Jerusalem, David Landis,who has joined us after extensive experience as an outdoor adventurespecialist developing hiking routes in the Middle East and worldwide.

We have also welcomed Shahm Al Wir, based in Amman, to our Boardof Directors. He brings wisdom and energy to the Abraham Path, makingus even better ambassadors of the path and better stewards of yourfunds and dreams.

REPORT FROM OUR CHAIR

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Our focus for the year ahead is to bring the world to the path andbring the path to the world. The path is real and walkable across 400kilometers, 40 communities, and 4 countries. Join us in 2013 incontinuing to build the Abraham Path, a path towards a more hopefulfuture.

William Ury Chair of the Board

Fear not, Walk on!

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DONATIONS

2012

thanks

35% institutions & foundations29% staff & board

36% individuals

total income $548,648total expenses $580,531

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When I walk as a guide on the path throughthe villages around my home, I orget that I am walking with visitors rom another country.

And it is not just the visitors that learn romme, I learn rom them. The path has changed the way I look at everything.

Fatih Salva, Ur a


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STORY

Young leaders opennew path stages in Turkey

In December 2012, a group of 30 path leaders from across the MiddleEast and around the world, sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, walkedtogether to open new stages of the path in and around Urfa. A 5-dayand 60 km route designed by Alison and Omer Tanik and Fatih Salvanow connects the Kurdish village of Yuvacali with the city of Urfa(Sanliurfa), an ancient site of pilgrimage. The group walked, exchangedstories, and experienced local hospitality in Kurdish, Turkish, Alevi and

Arab communities on the path. The next steps shall be to producemaps of all current stages of the path in the Urfa region, and to add asection from the beautiful area of Sogmatar to ancient Harran, whereAbraham started his long journey on foot.

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Alexandre ChadeAbdelrazzaq Arabiyat

Andrew UryAnisa Mehdi and Peter ZimmermannAudree ParrBarbara and Bertramm Cohn

Barbara and Peter ThorntonBarbara KrakowBart CampoloCharles BotelerCharlie BresnahanChristie Platt

Cornelius and Gertrude PriorDan ScheuerDaniel and Joanna S. RoseDavid Cohen

David Friedman and Tirzah FirestoneDavid Simon Dantzic

Dick and Patty SimonDonna ChildsEA PetersEileen RatkiewiczElizabeth HesterElizabeth Mirante

4,000 The number of walkers on the

sections in 2008

thanks

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Walking the path every week

STORY

Since the spring of 2012, people have been participating in weeklywalks along the path from Ajloun to the Jordan Valley (Jordan) and

from Nablus to Hebron (Palestine). The walks attract both local walkersand resident expats looking to take a break from city life and explorethe heritage and nature on the path. Apart from raising the numberof footsteps on the path, the walks were key in obtaining feedbackon new route descriptions and maps that were produced throughoutthe year. Each walk ends at the home of a local family where mealsare shared before groups return to Amman, Jerusalem or Ramallah.By December 2012, over 500 people had participated in the weeklywalks, and they continue to be organized by volunteers and local touroperators in 2013.

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Elizabeth Ury

Ellen BrockFetzer InstituteFrances and Timothy HesterFranchesca BiondoGervitz Family TrustHarvard Arab Alumni AssociationIlana Weiss

J.P. GuerinJames FinertyJames K. SebeniusJamil MahuadJeanne Rolston ForteJerry White

Jo Smith-Nilsson

John C. WhiteheadJohn Jones

Joshua WeissKelsey Whiting-JonesKevin RisenLionel SauvageLizanne Ury

Lori PyeM S WillinghamMalik Dahlan and Sarah YamaniMark TremblayMarnie PillsburyMary Elizabeth Pratt

430

360Km of path mappedin detail to date

thanks

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Km of path uncovered to date


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Path operator nominated forresponsible tourism award

Our operating partner on the path between Nablus and Hebron, theSiraj Center, was highly commended for Virgin Holidays ResponsibleTourism Award in the category Best Engagement between Peopleand Culture. Since the opening of the path in the West Bank, the SirajCenter has been running over 75 walking tours on the path. 2012 sawa record number of groups, with Sirajs numbers continuing to growand now including groups of local residents that walk the path for a

day and end with a home-made meal in one of the path communities.The award nomination is a testament to the impact of the work ofSiraj in developing the responsible tourism sector and creating memorableexperiences for travelers on the path.

STORY

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Mary WhiteMelinda Gildea

Michael Collins and Beverly Freeman

Monika and John Relman

Morris F Friedell

Neil D. Klotz

Oliver Pospisil

Paul Gray

Peggy Dulany and the

Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors

Peter and Barbara Thornton

Peter Armitage

Regina Mamou

Rick and Rebecca White

36Number of communitieson the path

4 Countries where the path hasbeen uncovered to date

Robert FeitlerRobert G. White

Roberta Sotomaior

Ronald Kertzner

Ross Sherbrooke

Stefan Szepesi

Stephen Goldberg

Susan Collin Marks

Thomas Hast

Valissa Tsoucaris

Vin Ryan and the Schooner Foundation

West Cummington Congregational Church

William and Lizanne Ury

thanks

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Women from the path:Hebron and BeershebaFour women working with community-based organizations fromvillages along the path near Hebron in the Palestinian West Bank(Tequa, Artas, Bani Naim, and Al Shouokh) hosted ten women from theSidreh Society near Beersheba in Israel as part of a Womens ExchangeProgram on the path organized by our partners from the Masar Ibrahimal-Khalil. The Sidreh Society aims to empower, represent, and improvethe socio-economic condition of Bedouin women living in IsraelsNegev. The women are currently developing ways to further collaborate

with the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil and plan for future exchanges alongthe path.

STORY

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Inspired to walk across Turkey

In February, 2011, I watched a TED video where William Ury, a professorat Harvard, mentioned Abrahams Path and walking as a way topromote peace and understanding in the Middle East. I practicallyfell out of my chair and said, Thats what I want to do. Here I amover a year later. I gured Id better start with Turkey. Matt Krauseis now walking solo 1,305 miles (2,100 kilometers) across Turkey,including a jaunt down Abraham Path, from the Aegean coast toIran, and describing what he runs into along the way.

STORY


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Photo competitionOur local partners at the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil organized a PhotoContest for students from Bethlehem University and Najah Universityin Nablus. The students captured images of the unique experience

of the path: the spectacular landscape, walking side-by-side withsomeone new, and the gift of hospitality. Most of the students hadnever walked in the West Bank before, and many commented on howspecial it was to be able to discover the rich cultural and naturalheritage of their country through walking.

STORY


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The poet Rumi said, Begin a oolish project. Noah did! The path is one such extraordinary ideacreative,radical, and doable. Ive seen the

diference it makes when peoplewalk together in common purposeand shared history. Remarkable!

David Baum, New Hampshire


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Abraham Paths global network continues to expand and grow.Chapters in Brazil, Spain and the UK stood out in 2012, shining thelight on the path.

United KingdomFive travelers from the UK Friends of Abrahams Path (www.abrahamspath.org.uk) headed to South Eastern Anatolia (Turkey) to walk anewly developed segment of the path in the spring of 2012.

British walker Brendan Sibley remarked, The unease I elt at beinga burden or embarrassment to the amilies that put us up was cured rapidly by the great humour o the people I met. We laughed nearly the whole time I was in the country and the up-beat simplicity o our interactions was the most re reshing thing about the trip .

THE PATH AROUND THE WORLD


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Brazil On the 23rd of September 2012, the Brazilian Chapter of the AbrahamPath Initiative hosted their 4th annual Caminho da Paz (the Path ofPeace), a 7 km run/walk through the streets of So Paulo, highlightingthe cultures and faiths in Brazil today, an example to the world atlarge. More than 4,000 people- from respected elders to infants instrollers- participated and over sixty media pieces aired about thisevent alone.

SpainA new Chapter of Abraham Path in Spain was formed in 2012.The Amigos de El Camino de Abraham-Espaa (www.elcaminode-

abraham.es) are currently in the beginning stages of developing astudent exchange project that will bring together walkers from bothsides of the Mediterranean.


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The frst all-path guidebook

Work has begun to collect stories, maps, and photography of thepeople and places along the way in the rst Abraham Path guide-

book. The all-path guidebook will rst be released in a virtual portalonline, supported by video footage, where people will be invited togo walk the path or explore the path as armchair travelers.

NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH


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Path extension

We are working with our partners to extend the path Nablus-Hebronpath section towards Jenin in the northern West Bank and the Negevsection from Arad to Beersheba.

We hope to connect sections of the path to create over 400 km ofcontinuous walking trail by 2014.

Guide training

Together with our local partners, we plan to organize the rstWiderness First Responders course for path guides in 2013 and 2014.


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It is one o those trips you keep talking about withervor orever, even I imagine to my grandchildren! It is amusing to see how people question why I went on an Abrahamic trip and then their raised eyebrowsimmediately change to envy upon me describing theexperience, the place, the discussions and the people.My wisdom out o the trip is that the antidote or

stereotype is experience.Quite amusing to watch it works!

Mona Abdeljawad, Amman


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ABOUT US

The mission of the Abraham Path Initiative is for the path to serve as:

a catalyst for socio-economic development and sustainabletourism

a place of meeting and connection between people from the

Middle East and people around the world

a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture,heritage, and hospitality of the region

-tion.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jerusalem Raed Saadeh (Vice-Chair)

New York Anisa Mehdi (Vice-Chair)

San Francisco Deena Shakir

So Paulo Salim Schahin

So Paulo Alexandre Chade

Amman Shahm al WirBoston James Sebenius

Boston Jamil Mahuad

Boulder William Ury (Chair)

Chicago Paul Gray


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JOIN THE

ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE

US donations

The Abraham Path Initiative is registered in the United States as a non-pro t 501(c)(3) organization and all your donations are tax-deductible.

To donate online visit www.abrahampath.org

Donations by bank check can be made to theAbraham Path Initiative and mailed to:

Abraham Path Initiative1563 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138USA

Donations by bank transfer can be made by inquiring [email protected]


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UK donations

The UK Friends of Abrahams Path is a registered charity in the UnitedKingdom and your donations are tax-deductible in the UK.

UK Friends of Abrahams Path LtdRegistered charity No: 1142073 / Company No: 7469327

7, Little WarkworthMill PlatOld IsleworthTW7 DY

Bank The CO-OPERATIVE Bank

Account title UK FRIENDS OF ABRAHAMS PATHSort code 089299

JOIN THE

ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE


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Abraham Path Initiative1563 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138www.abraham path .org

annual report 2012 - abraham path initiative

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