Giving does not stop at a certain age or limit: Fahmiyya Al-Araj is an example

Bethlehem / PNN / Giving does not stop at a certain age: Fahmiyya Al-Araj is a model. With these words, Hajja Fahmiyya Al-Araj, seventy years old, began her speech by explaining that advancing age and retirement does not mean sitting at home, but rather that there is a life of continuous giving to serve the community and the family.

Umm Magdy says in her interview with: Palestine News Network NNP Among the stories of the regional Qarib project produced by the network in Palestine, as part of the productions of independent media institutions in four countries: Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) and implementation by CFI, that despite her old age, she does not find this age a reason to sit at home, but rather she is years old. She can be the most beautiful in her life by giving and serving the surrounding community and the family community, which she does while she is happy

Umm Majdi says that after her retirement, she worked in more than one volunteer position, where she worked for years as president of the Parents’ Council to follow up on the conditions and reality of UNRWA schools in the Aida Palestinian refugee camp. She also volunteered to work to serve the mosque in the camp, and recently she was elected to membership. The People’s Committee for Services is the political service entity for the camp, as the committee assumed responsibility for the education and social services sector and works to follow up on any issues assigned to it by the committee.

The retired teacher, who worked as a teacher in UNRWA schools for about thirty years, explains that the conditions in the camp are getting worse in light of the aggression and the ongoing ugly war. There must be increased work and giving, noting that the committee seeks to provide services to the people of the camp according to the available capabilities, explaining that it has increased its work and its tasks are a new task. She works as a researcher through field visits to camp homes and meeting with women, especially those who are asking for aid in light of the siege and war, where she visits the homes, reviews the needs, and writes reports to the chairmanship of the committee in order to work to provide assistance.
Distinguished activity, despite his old age, and distinguished himself among the rest of the committee members

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlOIcrU2Tag

Saeed Al-Azza, head of the popular committee in the camp, says that Umm Majdi represents a model of a Palestinian woman who is able to give, work, and always offer herself to serve those around her, explaining that she is considered one of the most committed and present members of the committee and works to follow up on people’s affairs.
Al-Azza adds that Umm Majdi, despite her old age, is the most active, noting that her most prominent mission is the education sector as she is a former teacher, where she knows the reality of schools and their needs through visits to schools, meeting with their administrations, and following up on needs and problems as she works to solve them.
Al-Azza expressed his hope that the youth and women members of the committee would follow the example of Umm Magdy, as she is the most present, follow-up, and active among them, hoping that the rest of the committee members would benefit from this great amount of giving and work.
continuous work

Umm Magdy says that she has recently been working on renovating the women’s mosque’s toilets at the initiative of a group of women in the mosque, as they relied on her to a great extent as she is a member of the Popular Committee. She and them began volunteer work for the restoration and were able to achieve the project by starting a fundraising campaign where they were able to collect the necessary money. For the restoration process, after they approached the committee, the camp’s institutions, and some individual donors, Umm Magdy saw the completion of the project as an achievement for all women, especially since the restoration project was not a priority.
Illness is not an obstacle but a motivation
Umm Magdy says, thanking God, that years ago she was afflicted with breast cancer, had surgery to remove it, and underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She was able to survive it through her will and faith in God, and that the disease is a large part of it psychological, and she will not allow it to control it, which is what was actually achieved, as her high morale contributed to victory in confronting the disease, as she She became a refuge for many women who fell ill, especially during the period of her treatment in hospitals, and the doctors began asking her to sit with the patients and encourage them, which she actually did, as she gave lectures from time to time about her experience and called on women and girls not to be afraid and to face difficulties.
A role model for young women and activists
Fidaa Malash, one of the feminist activists in the camp, who is working on a project to improve the situation in the camp, says that Umm Magdy or Set Fahmiyya taught her in the primary and middle school levels, and she was a model of a distinguished teacher who was keen to help the students and open horizons for them, as she treated them as a friend and always encouraged us to excel and give.
Fidaa adds that she felt greater appreciation and respect when she worked with Umm Magdy as a member of the Popular Committee, where she saw her working hard and as hard as she was young when she was a teacher, and therefore she considers her a role model.

A life full of patience and will since childhood
Regarding the source of this will and generosity, Umm Majdi says that it started with her from her childhood, as she took responsibility for her brothers and sisters when she was young after her mother’s illness, and she was the eldest sister, as she moved with the refugee family from the village of Al-Walaja, Jerusalem district, which headed to Bethlehem. Her father was a soldier in the Jordanian army and was transferred to work in Several cities where she bore the burdens of her brothers in the fifties to the point that her father wanted her to leave school to take care of the family, but she insisted on completing her education and promised her father to take care of her brothers and continue her studies, which prompted her to work very hard and diligently with great responsibility towards her surroundings, which confirmed her character in the future, as she continued studying. She passed high school and entered the UNRWA Teachers’ Institute. There, she lived through a period of struggle and activities denouncing the occupation and a sense of responsibility, where she graduated with a diploma in teaching mathematics and science, and was employed immediately upon graduation because she obtained high grades.
Graduating community leaders
Umm Magdy points out that marriage did not prevent her from working, as she was serious about succeeding in work, preserving and caring for her children, and she managed her time with all ability, through her husband’s assistance to him before his death, as she reconciled between her work as a teacher, who moved to many schools, and being a housewife, as she considers that her children and their excellence in Their studies and work are one of the most important chapters of her life. She was able to have her eldest daughter graduate from the largest university in the world, Harvard, to be the first undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her second daughter was able to complete a master’s degree in the care of premature infants and became the director of nursing in the largest Palestinian hospital. Her eldest son is the owner of a large barber shop in his expatriate in Canada. She has a son, a journalist, and a son, a doctor, and through them she believes she has made her achievements to society.

Growing roses and taking care of pets
Umm Magdy refers to her work on her small farm and her love for the land. She points out that her home garden is her favorite place, where she raises poultry and pigeons, cultivates the land, and maintains trees. The best part of this life is the rose garden, which she works to maintain and arrange roses in her free time.

Advice for new retirees in conclusion
Umm Magdy concludes her speech by advising the community to adults and children about the importance of giving and volunteer work, especially for the elderly after retirement, as she says that this age is the best for serving the community, and that she feels very happy as she serves the community, calling on them to immerse themselves in the experience and not be drawn into the dark ideas that indicate that retirement age It is the age of rest and the age of sitting and waiting for the unknown. On the contrary, the years of retirement and giving were the most beautiful years for her, explaining that she will continue to work and give with all love for her community.