Why you should care

Derrar Ghanem, co-founder of BuildPalestine, is crowdsourcing solutions for the obstacles faced by his fraught nation. The money and the expertise to do it all came from the crowd, via the fast-growing platform of BuildPalestine.

By linking 12 million Palestinians across the West Bank, Gaza and the diaspora, 28-year-old Derrar Ghanem is connecting social entrepreneurs with the tools they need, while shifting perceptions of the Palestinian Territories. But through the haze of ongoing strife, it’s hard for anyone to see beyond what is widely recognized as an Israeli occupation of large parts of the territories.

We look for social entrepreneurs who have their skin in the game and can show it.

Derrar Ghanem

Born born in Athens to a Palestinian father and Greek-American mother, Ghanem was raised in the city of Jenin in the West Bank. Husseini, a former communications adviser to the Palestinian government, says foreign donations lead to “a perverse situation where aid contributes indirectly towards propping up the occupation, by allowing the Israeli government to maintain control over Palestinian land without having to bear the cost.”

But can small donations from ordinary folks pooled over the internet really match the deep pockets of global governments? Most Popular on OZYTrue StoryWhen My Neighbors Called the Cops on Me

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