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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January-February 2009, page 59 Waging Peace Iqraa’s Inaugural Year a Big Success: Group Raises $33,000 for Education
THIS YEAR A new phenomenon was born in the Washington, DC area, as a group of people concerned about the future of Palestine joined to form Team Iqraa. I founded Iqraa (“read,” in Arabic) early in 2008 with help from Washington, DC activists Mai Abdul Rahman, Grace Said and Paul Noursi. The aim of this informal association is to raise money to support the education of Palestinian youth. The unique aspect of the group is the activity it relies on to make a difference in the future of Palestine: long-distance running. The Iqraa runners began training in early May 2008 with the Marathon Charity Partners (MCP), a local charity association that provides coaching and support to charity runners. The Iqraa and other MCP runners met weekly for the next five and a half months, running increasingly long distances each Saturday—the group training day. Beginning at 1 mile for half-marathoners and 3 miles for marathoners, the mileage climbed incrementally to 20 miles by late September, in advance of the Oct. 26 Marine Corps Marathon, one of the group’s key events. Iqraa runners also competed in the 2008 Toronto and Philadelphia marathons. The peak event for the half-marathoners was the Oct. 11 Baltimore Running Festival. The 2008 Iqraa runners came from a variety of backgrounds, and included Muslims, Christians, and a Hindu, among others. The most grueling part of the training—the longest distances—coincided with Ramadan, and several of the runners, including Farida Ibrahim, Mohammed Iftaiha, Miriam Eqab and Nasrin Shah, showed their dedication by fasting during the day and then meeting at 9:30 p.m. to run. Farida completed her 20-mile training run at night after the Ramadan fast. Miriam trained and ran all summer and fall wearing a head scarf. Other runners showed their grit as well. Tawfiq Diab and Samar Najia trained despite broken toes—his incurred playing soccer, hers while rushing to work. Marco Pineyro ran barefoot—a personal choice that even he has a hard time explaining. At 17, Lena Amad was our youngest runner. Nadine Cheaib slugged away for mile after mile and completed all the training and her race. Patrick Scanlon and Zach Wales ran their legs off all summer and fall, but in the last week injuries forced them out of the Marine Corps Marathon. Guisou Zarbalian also had to drop out because of injuries. Leila Abuelhawa and Hiba Abdallah wanted to drop out, but—fortunately, uninjured—they were too proud to quit. Chandra Edara hardly ever missed a training session, and Eddie Brooks trained mostly on his own—but both completed the MCM in great time. William Langhorne and Samar Ridi also did their own training and still completed their runs—though Samar looked a little green afterward. And when Greta Stults moved to Toronto for grad school, she simply registered in that city’s marathon and wore the Iqraa colors in Canada. Because Iqraa is an informal group, it partners with an NGO certified by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charity to ensure that accountability of donated funds is maintained. Iqraa’s partner in 2008 is United Palestinian Appeal, which was founded in 1978 and provides both educational and humanitarian support in Gaza and the West Bank. The mechanics of the fund-raising are simple. Iqraa’s runners reach out to a wide circle of potential donors, informing them about UPA’s work and telling them about the runners’ intent to run a full or half-marathon as a demonstration of commitment to the cause of education for Palestinian youth. The program’s inaugural year was successful beyond the dreams of its founders: 17 Iqraa runners completed their races—13 in the full marathon and 4 half-marathoners. And these runners and an affiliated group called Friends of Iqraa raised over $33,000 in 2008. For more information visit <www.iqraadc.ashaparivar.org> or <www.helpupa.com>. —Kirk Campbell |
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