2023-August-29
Did you know? You can share this story using the social media icons on the upper left. Use the hashtag #WeAreCisco. You can also rate or comment on the story below.
Our Time2Give Experience in Palestine
By Time2Give for Palestine Team
3 MINUTE READ · 4 MINUTE LISTEN
In an internal meeting in 2020, we were joined by Steve Sosebee, who is the founder and president of the Palestine Children Relief Fund (PCRF). Steve shared his impressive story of how he started PCRF over 30 years ago by providing medical care to children in the region.
This ignited a passion to join forces.
The path to realizing our mission was not without obstacles.
After approaching a few colleagues who shared the same passion and interest in this unique experience, we drafted the trip plan that included assembling a team, organizing a nine-day plan across multiple cities in the West Bank Palestine, and confirming logistics, local partners, and the schedule.
We also had to be aware of local political situations, checkpoints, and unexpected road blockages. Sometimes, it wasn’t clear if we could keep our travel agenda between cities, which included Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Nablus.
After over six months of preparation, our team of 10 set out for our nine-day mission.
It was called “Time2Give for Palestine” — T2G4P for short — and took place in May 2023. We proudly represented five different Cisco offices: Munich, Berlin, Skellefteå, Doha, and Dubai.
We planted trees, redesigned gardens, and promoted green spaces to foster a healthier environment for pediatric patients at Jala Hospital in Bethlehem, Alia Hospital in Hebron, and Palestine Hospital in Ramallah.
We had the privilege of visiting the Huda Al Masri Healing Garden, part of Palestine’s first and only public department for pediatric cancer care and treatment. There, we spent quality time with children and their families.
We also embarked on a project in partnership with PCRF that will utilize telemedicine and the latest conferencing technologies to help connect worldwide medical professionals with patients.
In collaboration with Palestine Techno Park at Birzeit University, we conducted an inspiring Technology Day workshop. University students, startups, and business owners joined to learn about new technologies in AI, security, network automation, and collaboration.
As a follow-up to this workshop, Cisco Networking Academy and Techno Park announced an official partnership to provide free Cisco trainings and certifications for university students in Palestine.
We visited PCRF projects and cultural centers, initiating a long-term initiative to offer IT consultancy services to PCRF.
And finally, in partnership with Sawaed19, we visited a couple of culture centers in Nablus and have discussed potential future joint projects in the West Bank.
Cisco employees, as well as individuals outside the company, displayed great generosity in supporting this mission. On the Cisco Community Impact portal, we collected and donated over $60,000 to support PCRF humanitarian projects.
We deemed this exceptional opportunity "Mission Impossible" — but we were ultimately successful.
We have already started planning to return next year to follow up on multiple projects.
This includes the digital transformation of universities, evaluating the IT infrastructure for PCRF projects, securing collaboration technology to connect doctors with patients and their families, and continuing a donation campaign.
The positive feedback from the field was immense.
During and after our trip, we received many requests from people around the world who wanted to register for the next T2G4P.
This project stands as a remarkable success story and will continue.
Each and every one of us possesses the ability to give back to the community! Remember, giving back can also be a way to do something good for yourself.
Related Links
Connect everything. Innovate everywhere. Benefit everyone.
Share your thoughts!
Log in to rate and commentShare your thoughts on the story here!