As many of you know, I have had the tremendous opportunity to volunteer with the Domari: Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem at their community center. The Domari are an ethnic underclass living in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. They suffer from chronic poverty, unemployment, under-education, discrimination and cultural disintegration. The organization formed by Amoun Sleem in 1999 to respond to the community's needs at a grass-roots level.  At first, Ms. Sleem opened her own home to her community and worked single-handedly to help children and families. One of the only female leaders in predominantly male-dominated Arab East Jerusalem, Ms. Sleem built the organization as the tangible base for the communal development of the Dom Gypsy community throughout Palestine. Her dream was to lift the Gypsies of Jerusalem out of the "untouchable" status from which they suffer through education and empowerment. Today, the Domari Society is a registered nonprofit organization that runs programs for the community out of a center in the Shua'fat neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Members of the community, primarily women and children, come for classes, training programs, advice and assistance. The Domari Center also raises awareness about the community and its culture to visitors from all over the world. And that is where you all come in! The Domari has been generously funded to make a trip to the States in early June 2007. The Center has endured a very difficult stretch and is in danger of having to close its doors due to lack of funding. The Society has also been given an additional incentive for having a successful fund-raising trip to the States; if we raise $10,000 of support, then we will receive a donor match of another $10,000! We have this tremendous opportunity in June to help facilitate this wonderful organization and keep hope alive for the Dom Gypsy community. We will be in the Michiana area between June 1st and 20th and would like to meet with as many churches and organizations as possible! The organization is not Christian based, but our generosity has the opportunity to plant seeds and represent the love of Christ to a chronically discriminated community. If you or your church would be interested in having Amoun and I come and present the Domari community, then please let us know! You can email the center at domari@alqudsnet.com or simply leave a comment on this site with contact information. If you would like to send a tax-deductible gift to the Domari, then please send your donation to the following address: Dom Research Center, Inc. P.O. Box 121 McComb, MS 39649 The Dom Research Center forwards 100% of contributions onto the Domari Community Center, and contributors will receive an end-of-the-year tax receipt for all donations. Thank You All, and I hope to hear from you soon! Here are some pics of the community and center: 
 
Love you all, and I'll see you soon. | 
