Monira, a Bedouin woman, is one of 8 children. Originally from the unrecognized village of Wadi al Na'am, she moved at the age of three to the township of Segev Shalom, where she still lives with her family. Monira has an undergraduate degree in Social Work from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  

 

            As a result of her studies, Monira began working at Shatil (the New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training Center - http://www.nif.org/programs-and-partners/shatil/ ) as thye project coordinator for women's empowerment in unrecognized Bedouin villages. This led to her work in The Tent – work that "… I love very much and that gives me the greatest personal and professional satisfaction…"

 

            In her work as project coordinator of TALIYAH, Monira works closely with the Arab-Bedouin volunteers, recent high school graduates, who have decided to devote one year of their lives to volunteering within Arab-Bedouin communities in the Negev region. "When people ask me how the project contributes to each of the volunteers, I always say that it helps them in their personal development and sense of personal security, but I also always feel that I undergo the same process – a process of personal and professional maturing. Today I have the ability to find the balance between my personal aspirations and my community's needs, and to overcome many limitations that the State and our society puts on us..."

 

            Monira believes that she now has the strength, independence and responsibility to express her opinions and ideas due to her deep pride in belonging to the Bedouin community, in general, and the Bedouin community in the Negev, in particular.

 

            "My dream is to see my society in a different place, a place of economic, social and professional development, a society that fights for its rights and does not wait for someone else to undertake the fight. I want to see more and more young adults acquire higher education and work. …I love my work in the volunteer Tent and with the wonderful staff that is helping to achieve what we need; I draw my strength from them to carry on with this important work…"