Daily Hugz

We would like to commemorate Norma Cumpston's life and tireless dedication to helping the underprivileged, especially the children, by buying a school bus in her honor in the West Bank.

Although Norma was deeply compassionate towards all, she was especially committed to improving the plight of the Palestinians. Since the 1950s, she had written hundreds of letters to her elected representatives encouraging them to do more to protect their rights.

From 1952 until she retired in 1979, Norma dedicated herself towards educating children in the Middle East.

We would like to honor her spirit by purchasing a school bus in her name serving underprivileged Palestinian children. In particular, the bus will be operated by the US based non-profit, Daily Hugz, to bring underprivileged Palestinian children to an outdoor animal sanctuary, where they can receive emotional healing and participate in special classes. Although it is unfortunate Norma will not be able to see the fruition of her hard work, we hope this project will continue her legacy and continue the spirit of her labor while she was with us.

Daily Hugz  (http://www.dailyhugz.org/) provides shared space in the West Bank for special-needs children to interact with nature and rescued animals. We offer aquatic, animal interaction, and creative expression therapies.

Daily Hugz was founded by Maad Abu-Ghazalah, a Palestinian American entrepreneur. In 2012 Maad sold his software business to Bloomberg and decided to invest in the future of his native country. Maad established Daily Hugz to counter the culture spreading throughout the world that those with money and power should exploit those whom are weaker. By contrast, Daily Hugz' mission is to care for the the most vulnerable members of society  and to treat them with respect and dignity.

We need your help. $7,500 will provide the transportation costs to bring Palestinian children from three crowded refugee camps to our Daily Hugz sanctuary once a week for an entire year, where they will have the freedom and space to live life as children should. Eight kids from each camp spend a day a week at the sanctuary with their mother or father. The parent will have the opportunity to learn and work with local therapists and experts.

"Children with autism are keenly attached to the sensory world. The opportunity provided at the Daily Hugz sanctuary to touch, smell, and move within nature offers a critical pathway to open doors to increased interaction and communication with the external world."
- Denise Ziya Berte Ph. D.,  Clinical Psychologist and Head of Research at the An Najah Child Institute.  Nablus, West Bank

How crowded are the Palestinian refugee camps?

You can't turn around without scraping your shoulders on both sides of the street...

There's barely room for a drawing of a tree much less a real tree...
Even the vines are in cages ...
The park is an olive tree on a tiny patch of grass...
You can count the number of generations living in a camp by the number of floors in each building...
The only space available to build The Center for Handicapped Children was on top of graves...

Daily Hugz provides kids with the opportunity to....

Play with animals...

Pick carob pods from a tree....
Fly a kite....
Play soccer on a field rather than in a street....

Swim, play in a pool, and engage in aquatic therapy...

Feed a rescued donkey...
Be at peace with nature ... 

Won't you help us make a difference in these kids' lives? Thank you so much for your generosity.


Maad and the Daily Hugz Team

Donate $20 or more and receive a set of DailyHugz postcards.