The boys were eager to help, and after researching the issue, they realized the impact their work could have, not only on a population, but also an entire country. “If I was in their shoes, I just couldn’t even imagine not having the possibly of continuing education, so I wanted to give them the same opportunities that are present for many other children,” Lentz said.
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After the website was created with some help from the American Sign Language students at Oak Hall School, word spread about the efforts being made in Gainesville to raise money for the school in Palestine. It wasn’t until after the website was up and running that the students and faculty at Oak Hall School became aware of deeper, more complex issues surrounding the Deaf school and the Palestinian government. The government had failed to pay the staff at the Deaf school for over four months, which resulted in teachers and deaf students organizing a protest in West Bank to gain the attention of powerful lawmakers and evoke change in regulations regarding the Deaf. Once the Welfare and Education Ministries understood that there was an extreme need for an expanded school for the Deaf, saw the website that Lentz and Goldberger created and realized that they had so much support from a community on the other side of the world, they offered an additional $700,000 if the $350,000 is raised by mid January of 2015. The increase in funds would mean that not only could the current school expand, but it would also be able to create an entirely new, state of the art facility. “If we raise this $350,000, then they’re going to have a brand new building in the shape of an ear, which will not only serve their deaf kids in Qalqilya, but all of the Deaf kids in Palestine,” Kalishman explained. With the promise of an additional $700,000, plus the donation of land and infrastructure by the city government, the current focus is on reaching the original goal of $350,000 within the next six months. In addition to traditional fundraising events, a grassroots approach will be utilized to help reach the community and gain support. Although there is still a long way to go and much of the planning is still in place, everyone involved is dedicated to turning this once distant idea into a very foreseeable reality. Since becoming connected through Sister Cities, many of the students at Oak Hall School, including Cynthia DuPont’s American Sign Language students, have developed close friendships with the students in Palestine using