A Story Of Hope

Haneen was born under the light of a candle. Coming from a village without electricity or running water, she would wake up in the morning and go down to the well to retrieve water as a young girl. Haneen would stay up late studying and drawing cartoons she had heard about from other students in class. She could draw anything she saw, so she entered Dar al-Kalima University and studied art. Haneen’s curiosity drove her to learn everything she could about the field, and she soon graduated and connected with art institutions and centers. Her studies at Dar al-Kalima University introduced her to a variety of opinions and ideas, broadening her perspective on individual expression and belief.

Once graduated, Haneen started thinking about how to make a powerful exhibit that would reach people in a unique way and settled on a solo exhibition. Meanwhile, in Haneen’s home village of Juubit al-Dheeb, the Dutch government donated solar panels to provide electricity to the community. When Israeli authorities confiscated the solar panels and left the village in the dark for weeks, Haneen started mobilizing the women and took the case to the Israeli high court. They won and managed to send the solar panels back to the village. During the pandemic, Haneen was forced to stop her exhibitions and instead focused on henna art for weddings. She eventually started training others at drawing and community centers in remote villages of Palestine. Currently, Haneen is married and has a child. She lives in the town of Tuqu’ and her parents still live in the village of Juubit al-Dheeb, where the village has light again thanks to Haneen's bravery. Haneen is able, in part, to become a next-generation creative leader and flourish in Palestine now because of your generosity to Bright Stars of Bethlehem.