Albert Mimoni – Reinstating Electricity to a Disabled Resident of the Galilee  

Upper Galilee resident Albert Mimoni copes with a severe disability and lives off a meager disability pension. His wife receives supplementary oxygen several times a day. Like other disabled individuals in the outlying areas, Albert is forced to expend considerable effort and funds in order to reach far-away hospitals and service providers.

Facing an enormous electricity bill, Albert came to a favorable payment agreement with the electric company. Nonetheless, one day his electricity was disconnected. A few years earlier, Albert would have hospitalized his wife and made do without electricity. But because he had taken part in a Shatil-led activists group and had participated in a nation-wide campaign for the rights of the disabled, Albert had the confidence and the ability to demand his rights. He knew exactly what to do and his electricity was soon reconnected. The assurance and confidence Albert demonstrated are typical of graduates of Shatil-guided activist groups.

Strengthening the Gallilee Region

The Negev and Galilee are far removed from the country’s power center, both economically and socially. Many residents of the outlying areas are immigrants, Arab Israelis and indigent – and they all lack access to national decision makers. According to a 2008 National Insurance Institute study, more than 30 percent of the residents of the North and South live in poverty, compared to 13 percent of the residents of the central region. This chasm prevents the sustainable development of the country’s poorest regions and undermines Israel’s social cohesiveness.

Shatil serves the residents of Israeli’s outlying areas by campaigning for equal rights, equitable distribution of resources, and sustainable-development projects. The staff members of the Beersheva and Haifa offices, many of whom live in those areas, employ an array of strategies, including:

• Consulting to grassroots organizations of local resident-activists;
• Community organizing to foster activism and make sure that the voices of the residents are heard;
• Encouraging citizen participation in decision making and political processes; 
• Collaborating with local municipalities to jointly advance the well-being of the outlying areas.

Ensuring Access to Health Care

Cancer patients who live in the Upper Galilee must make the long and arduous journey to Haifa to receive radiation treatment. Shatil initiated and led a media and advocacy health-care campaign for the residents of the Galilee. Two results: the government now provides cancer patients with free transportation to Haifa and the acting Health Minister Ya’akov Litzman has made a commitment to open center for radiation treatment center in Tzfat.

Providing Services for Local Activists

Shatil conducts a range of training programs for individuals and organizational representatives, designed to provide them with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to work more effectively.  Over 1400 organizations currently receive consulting services from Shatil.

Driving Social Change in the Negev

As Israel’s leading capacity-building organization, Shatil has been a driving force for social change in the Negev for over a decade. The people who devote their lives to social change include Haim Bar-Yaacov, the founder of the Movement for Life with Dignity.  Shatil inspired Haim to organize a tent city of Beersheva’s homeless and helped him find housing solutions for hundreds of families. From a grassroots volunteer organization, HaLev is now a registered NGO with a salaried director, active in social-justice efforts throughout the region.  Shatil’s Beersheva office initiates, coordinates and guides a full range of social-justice projects, such as Bedouin rights, the rights of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, women’s empowerment, environmental justice and local, sustainable economic development (LSED).

Forum of Youth Organizations in the Negev

Established with support from the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Forum of Youth Organizations in the Negev works with local and national organizations to empower Negev youth, by hosting skill-building trainings and other activities. In partnership with Start Up and other organizations, Shatil established a regional youth parliament. The Forum also exchanges information and ideas with civil-society partners in the United Kingdom.