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One of the pioneers of education, volunteer and social work in PalestineShe was one of the most prominent Jerusalemite women who dedicated their lives to caring for orphans, the poor, and the children of martyrs. She was born in Jerusalem In 1916, she was a unique model of a teacher, educator, and devoted mother to her nation and homeland.
She spent most of her life serving the Arab Child Home Foundation, and worked hard to provide all the support and money needed for its survival and development with the help of her friends and donors from all over the world.
Birth and upbringing
Hind Taher Al-Husseini, nicknamed “The Heart of Palestine,” “Mother of Orphans,” and “Mother Teresa Palestinian – in Jerusalem on April 25, 1916 in the house of her maternal grandfather, Muhammad Salih al-Husayni, which was later known as the “Arab Child House”, and is located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of Old City of Jerusalem.
Hind comes from a family distinguished by knowledge and leadership, and many of its members held important positions in PalestineHind is one of the most prominent figures in the family in particular and in Jerusalem in general.
Her father died when she was two years old, so her mother Fatima struggled to raise her and five of her siblings: Burhan, Al-Mahdi, Sadiq, Zain, and Jamal. Being the youngest of these siblings had the greatest impact on her professional life.
Hind never married, but she devoted her life to raising generations of orphans and the weak, and perhaps her being an orphan played a role in her success in this great mission.
Study and training
I studied at the “Islamic Girls” school, adjacent to To the blessed Al-Aqsa MosqueShe finished primary school in 1922, then joined the English Girls' High School and graduated in 1937.
She then worked in the field of education, and between 1936 and 1939, that is, during the Palestinian general strike, and the revolution against Jewish immigration to Palestine and against The Zionist ProjectHind got a scholarship to study in Britain, but her mother did not allow her to travel, especially since that period was a war period.
Hind Taher Al-Husseini did not surrender to circumstances, but rather worked hard and studied. Arabic And the English language in 1938 with special efforts and lessons.
Political and practical experience
I worked as a teacher at the Islamic Girls School for one academic year, and stopped teaching after the outbreak of World War II For a short period, then continued until the end of the 1945 school year.
In 1945, she left her teaching profession and began a phase of voluntary social work. She established the Women’s Social Solidarity Association in Jerusalem, and its branches spread throughout Palestine until their number reached 22 branches.
I started 1948 war The country was torn apart, associations stopped working, and many tragedies occurred, the most brutal of which were: Deir Yassin massacre.
Hind, with the help of Adnan al-Tamimi, gathered 55 orphan boys and girls from Deir Yassin and put them in two rooms that she rented in the Souq al-Hasr, a small market located at the end of the bazaar in the old town. At that time, she had only 138 Palestinian pounds, and she vowed to live with these orphans.
This was the beginning of the establishment of the Arab Child House Foundation in her grandfather’s house where she lived in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. When schools were regular, Hind distributed the children she had gathered to classes appropriate to their age in order to receive education.
Then she found it more appropriate for them to open classes in the grounds of the house in which they lived, so she converted the garage, the horse stable, and the horse grooms’ residence into temporary classes under her direct supervision.
In 1961, I was able to build the first floor of the school building with a donation from the company. Aramco Saudi Arabia, and in 1965 the second floor of the school was built with a donation from the Al-Shaya family in Kuwait, and in 1969 the third floor of the school building was built, containing the secondary classes and the library, and a section of the boarding house where some orphaned female students reside.
In the 1960s, she began collecting embroidered clothes until she had 3,200 pieces. She then started the idea of a folk museum to preserve heritage from loss, looting and distortion, and she continued to enrich the museum whenever she had the opportunity to increase its collection.
The museum, which was established in 1962, is distinguished by its heritage building in the middle of the Ottoman eraIt was originally her uncle's house from the Al-Husseini family and was purchased from the heirs of its owners. It contains a valuable and rare collection of Palestinian costumes, jewelry, traditional craft tools and antiquities. She also started a folk dance troupe with 20 girls.
In 1970, a building for children was built with donations from the German Lutheran Church, and in 1971, the Institute of Education and Social Service was established, and thus the association progressed until it became a complete neighborhood.
In 1982, the College of Arts for Girls building was completed with the assistance of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (later changed its name to Organization of Islamic CooperationIn the same year, the house of the late great Palestinian writer Is’af al-Nashashibi was purchased and preparations began to be made for it to be an Islamic research center and a higher institute that grants a master’s degree in Islamic archaeology and civilization in Holy Jerusalem.
Contributions and achievements
Hind Al-Hussaini participated in several conferences, including:
- Vocational Training Experts Conference For the Middle Eastwhich was held in Lebanon In 1953, she presented her experience: The Children’s House and the Social Field.
- Third Social Studies Circle for Arab Countries in Damascus 1952 as an observer.
- Social Studies Circle for Arab Countries in Omanwhich was organized by League of Arab States 1956.
- A seminar on the role of rural women and their participation in the rural community development programme, organised by the League of Arab States in 1959.
She was a member of many social and educational institutions and organizations, including:
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Refugee Girl Association.
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Construction Project Association.
- One of the founders of Al-Maqasid Charitable Society.
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Orphan.
- Member of the Board of Trustees of Al-Quds University.
- Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Faculty of Arts for Girls – Al-Quds University.
Death
Hind Al-Husseini died in 1994. Two documentaries were produced about her in 2010, the first titled “Miral,” produced by American director Julian Schnabel. It is a new look at ancient Palestine, and is considered the first Western film production to present a different image of Palestinian society before the displacement and before the destruction of its social structures.
The second film was produced by Sahara Darbas, in which she narrated part of Hind Taher Al-Husseini’s life.
