Sudfeh will be the name of the very first vegan cafeteria in Palestine and will be established in the thriving Al Quds University Campus in Abu Dis, Jerusalem. There are over 13,000 students studying at Al Quds University at present. All of them stand to benefit from access to healthy, animal friendly, plant-based foods on their campus.
Not only will Sudfeh be the first vegan cafeteria in Palestine, it will also be the first vegan cafeteria in any Arabic speaking University in the world! Even better, Sudfeh will be a completely not-for-profit initiative, with all proceeds being split equally between support for animal protection projects and providing scholarships for struggling students.
Oh, and did we mention that the initiative to establish Sudfeh was masterminded by a group of Palestinian schoolchildren?! Pretty impressive, right?! Find out more about the group behind Sudfeh in our video as well as in the information below.
“Sudfeh” means “Serendipity” in Arabic. The name represents, luck, hope and being in the right place at the right time. And, as luck would have it, you are in the right place right now to make Sudfeh happen – will you support us in getting this ground-breaking project off the ground?
PAL is the only locally-run animal protection charity in Palestine, where life for both animals and people is extremely challenging. Despite dealing daily with the impact of the ongoing military occupation of Palestine, the PAL team have worked to develop a number of far-reaching projects; such as spay and neuter schemes for street dogs, programmes to improve life for working horses and donkeys and effective humane educational projects with young people.
By encouraging kindness and compassion towards people and animals, PAL’s work is focused upon supporting people, and particularly young people, to channel their frustrations at day-to-day life into positive action for animals. From this ethos, the idea for Sudfeh grew as one group of 14-year-old schoolchildren taking part in PAL’s “Youth for Change” programme came up with the idea for a vegan cafeteria at the university that they aspire to attend in the coming years. The group negotiated with the University’s president to secure the promise of a space in which to establish the cafeteria, as well as the commitment to split the income between PAL and scholarships.
The Youth for Change programme carries a simple message: the young people of today are not just “future” leaders, they can lead right now. The programme teaches young people to embrace their ability to make positive change in their own community. Sudfeh is the perfect representation of this ability in action.
In supporting Sudfeh, you are supporting the young people who developed the initiative – confirming to them that they do have the power to change their reality for the better and that they have support from all around the world. This is about more than just a vegan cafeteria; it is about healthy eating, kindness to animals and providing educational opportunities now and in the future for students who might otherwise be denied the chance of higher education.
We hope that you agree to be part of this wonderful initiative led by inspiring young people whose aim is to create a brighter future for people and animals in one of the most challenging environments in the world.
Will you help us to turn this space into a thriving vegan enterprise?
The project needs to raise £10,000 in order to cover the initial start-up fees for Sudfeh. This includes the purchase of the equipment for the kitchen, renovation of the space, salary for the chef, manager, server and custodian for the first few months of operation (after start-up these costs will be covered by the income from the cafeteria). As the space has been so kindly donated, rent-free, from the University, the day-to-day running costs will be limited to the salaries and the cost of ingredients, plus any repairs required as time goes on. Not only does this mean that Sudfeh will be cheap to run, it means that there will be more excess income available to fund animal protection projects and scholarships.
We have developed a series of special gifts to say thank you to the project's amazing backers.
These include authentic artisanal products from Palestine, hand-made, vegan soaps made from Palestinian olive oil, special project T-shirts and tote bags. For backers pledging over £100, your name will be engraved on a plaque and displayed within the cafeteria as a permanent record of your support for the project.
On behalf of PAL and the young people working hard to make their dream a reality, thank you!
#Sudfeh
#Sudfeh_EatVegan
#Sudfeh_FundAnimalProtection
#Sudfeh_SupportEducation
#Sudfeh_Palestine
The Sudfeh initiative is run in partnership between the Palestinian Animal League (PAL) and Al Quds University, Jerusalem. Donations are administrated via UK charity, Palestinian Animal League Solidarity (PALS).
Sincere thanks to Kelly Geurin and Helen Pateman for allowing the use of their photographs, videos and illustrations as part of this campaign. We are very grateful.