Donor Gives Back to his Family’s Village

The Shalaby family has a long history in Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya, having lived in the village from the Ottoman period to the family’s immigration to the United States following the 1948 war. The father, Omar Shalaby, inspired his children to remember the people of their homeland. The family has provided support for numerous community development projects, including roads, a mosque, and local schools. In 2000, through The Jerusalem Fund’s computer lab initiative, Shalaby’s son Mike donated a computer lab to the Mazra'a al-Sharqiyya Girls’ School.

Fahima al-Tayeb, principal of the school, is delighted by the generosity of the Shalaby family. Two hundred and thirty students—from seventh to tenth grade—benefited directly from the computer lab during the 2000-2001 school year. When interviewed in June 2000, Tayeb was optimistic that the students would “benefit a great deal from access to information. … They will be just like other students, with the same opportunities.”

Mazra’a Al-Sharqiyya is a village of 3,000 people located northeast of Ramallah. Most residents are employed in a small number of professions, such as commerce, stonecutting, or government. Some families, like the Shalabys, work in the United States and send remittances back to their relatives.

Although Mike Shalaby was born in the United States, he maintains a firm dedication to the people of his village. He has visited the village just two times, yet his father’s memories keep the village alive in the family’s hearts. Shalaby is honored to be a part of the Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya community. They are a “very proud, patriotic people. They love their village and they love their country,” he says. This strong sense of dedication to community and family “has been passed on for generations.”

Shalaby notes that unfortunately, many people from the village have not had the opportunity to complete their high school education. If they had more options, Shalaby is confident that they would succeed. At the supermarkets he owns in California—in areas that are predominately Spanish speaking—he employs Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya villagers and they quickly acquire both Spanish and English. Yet Shalaby realizes that within Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya there are limited resources, so the villagers “don’t have the opportunity to pursue better careers.” The creation of a computer lab at the Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya Girls’ School has been an important investment in the village’s future.

Shalaby and his wife Fatima believe it is vital for the people of their family’s village to have access to computer technology. He explains that this issue has remained largely unaddressed in Palestine. “Technology is a major part of our world. I was very interested in sharing that technology with the people of Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya.” He hopes that the computer lab will inspire the village community to “learn different things and broaden their horizons.” For Shalaby, Mazra’a al-Sharqiyya must strive to improve the educational standard for future generations, and he believes that “one of the best ways to do that is to invest in computers and the Internet. … Perhaps this lab will be very helpful in enabling people to improve themselves” so that they can “give back to their community.”