Dr. Asali discusses ACP at USAID conference

On January 7, ACP Chair, Dr. Ziad Asali addressed an audience on the topic of “Models for Sustainable and Relevant Development” at the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID). Dr. Asali joined a panel with Manal Omar of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Jack Boyson of the International Youth Foundation, and moderator Elizabeth Kvitashvili, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at USAID.



The forum, held at the USAID offices in the Ronald Reagan Building was entitled: “Building Partnerships: Development in Diverse Muslim Societies.” The event was designed to highlight creative and effective approaches to development in Muslim communities around the world with the goal of strengthening relationships with the NGO community and in-country efforts.



Dr. Asali spoke about the American Charities for Palestine (ACP) and its innovative approach to forming a public private partnership. Dr. Asali explained the need to have an answer to the satisfaction of the donors that this is a secure way to deliver the funds donated. “We need to make sure the recipients are vetted by the United States Government," he said. “The MOU leaves the vetting process to USAID or government agencies it deals with. We will designate the receiver. If we think a school is worthy of help, we will take it to USAID [for their approval and vetting].”



Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with USAID, ACP has quickly begun to deliver on its mission to improve the quality of health and education in Palestine. ACP is proud to announce the commencement of the One Laptop per Child Program in Palestine with the delivery of one thousand XO laptops, at a cost of $200,000, for use in several West Bank schools. In addition, ACP has commenced a large infrastructure project in the village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta outside of Ramallah. A private donation of $100,000 to ACP was matched by $200,000 from USAID. The project will include lighting and street paving next to an all-girls school in the village.



“Concepts, ideas that make sense, can be translated into actions that can actually have an impact,” Dr. concluded. “We provided an answer to a real problem and the beneficiaries are going to be the people in Palestine”





Read the transcript of USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore's closing remarks