ANNUAL REPORT 2015

THE PACE OF NATURE

Dear Friend,
A big thank you for your extraordinary
support in 2015!
It has been a year of many changes
and challenges (and some unexpected
opportunities) along the Abraham Path and
in the Middle East at large. Today we find
ourselves swimming against a current of
conflict and division that threatens the safety
and basic values of many of the communities
along this ancient route. It is in times like
these that walking the path of hope is
perhaps most difficult, but at the same time
most necessary. It is in times like these that
the hospitality of perfect strangers reminds
us that whatever divides us, what unites us is
far greater. Our common story began here,
on the same earth that is constantly besieged
and disputed today.
By supporting the Abraham Path, by
being part of our global community, you

are defying those who instill fear, and

announcing the presence of hope. You have
helped us to reach a goal that but a few
years ago seemed wildly improbable: over
1,000 miles this year passing through 150
communities throughout the Middle East.
You are helping walkers from around the
world connect with families and guides who
couldnt be more proud and delighted to
receive them, in a world where many would
prefer they were kept apart. Amazingly, the
number of walkers on the path, reinforced
by locals, keeps rising year by year, a
promising sign of resilience and hope.
I hope that you can all experience the path
for yourself one day, to walk in the footsteps
of the Friend, as Abraham is known, and to
meet the family, as we like to say. There
are always homes and hearts open and
waiting for you. Until that day comes, we
will continue to work to bring the path to

you, through our online guidebook, through

social media and videos, and through walks
and events for our circles of friends around
the world.
I feel honored that you choose to support
this audacious project, in all its complexities
and triumphs. Each homestay or wilderness
guide training, partnership with a local
NGO, and waymark along the trail, has been
possible because of you.
Please accept my deepest gratitude. Step by
step with you along the path,

William Ury | Chair

Abraham Path Initiative

Adopt the pace of nature;

her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Abraham Path is a

cultural walking route
through the heart of the
Middle East, Rated the
worlds #1 new walking
trail by national
geographic in 2014

We invite you to participate

in a grand adventure: to walk
together in the cradle of
civilization, to meet people
from different cultures and
traditions, to learn something
new about ourselves, others,
and the world, and to serve
the larger community.

abraham path in the news 2015:

The Abraham Path is

an exercise in the
possibility
of change.
Peter Beaumont for The
Guardian
December 2015

2015 in numbers
IMprovement over 2014:

14

NEW Regions ALONG THE PATH

17
930
2,800

NEW communities

MORE kiloMETERS

MORE walkers

2015 TOTALS: 29 REGIONS, 128 COMMUNITIES, 2,008 KM, 5,800 WALKERS

PARTNERSHIP WITH the WORLD BANK

2015 has seen many successes for our partnership project with the
World Bank, Masar Ibrahim: Economic Development Across Fragile
Communities. The project has continued in its second year to make
progress in its all components, with a strong focus on:
the capacity and the institutional sustainability of the local actors
across the value chain of the path
development of the path

promotion of the path and expansion of the private sector
engagement on the path

action research via engagement of experts on experiential
tourism in fragile and conflict affected societies

Completed activities together with those still

ongoing contribute to rural development,
employment, and womens empowerment
in communities normally excluded from
the mainstream economic development
and investment in the West Bank, and often
disconnected from one another. The project
has been extended to June 2017 and is poised
to build on this foundation, scale up its impact,
and achieve its full potential.

Investing
Beyond the development of local
trails, the Abraham Path Initiative
is committed to investing in local
talent and entrepreneurship that
can enhance outdoor culture in the
region at large. One shining example
of this skill-sharing is Osama, an
experienced wilderness guide
from Jordan for whom API
funded a Wilderness

in people

Emergency
Medical Technician
certification early in 2015. With his
background in eco-tourism and new
medical credentials from the SOLO
School of Wilderness Medicine in
New Hampshire, USA, Osama has been
teaching Wilderness First Aid to guides,
adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts
throughout the Middle East.

Thus far Osama has taught 4 sponsored

courses through partnerships with Mercy
Corps, Operation Mercy, and Bethlehem
University,
with
approximately
40
completing the training in Wilderness First
Aid. Participants have included current
wilderness guides and trainees, as well
as people from other ends of the tourism
sector, including staff of an award-winning
eco-lodge in Jordan.

Finding real-life adventure

This year, the ever-expanding resources in our online guidebook, which is
the only comprehensive database of Abrahamic sites and routes, brought
walking the Middle East to new terrain.
Under the care and hospitality of Bedouin tribes, groups of walkers explored
the arid landscapes of the Sinai from the Red Sea to Saint Catherine.
In December, two British walkers embarked on an
epic journey of over 1,000 miles through the Middle
East. Documented on walkthemasar.com, their
experience of slow travel through rural communities
showed the world the warmth and openness of the
region that media so often obscures.

I walk and talk; sweat and breathe.

I clack my hiking poles together at
barking dogs, and I drink deeply when
I find a spring. I look to the sky
regularly for more rain, and I scan
hilltops when I hear the greetings of
a shepherd. I head south at 3 miles
an hour. Onwards, along the masar.
Leon McCarron

Building a global community

While the path continued to grow in miles
and impact in 2015, our global community of
supporters had numerous firsts and reached new
audiences this year. In June, our friends group
in Brazil hosted another successful Caminho
da Paz run through So Paulo, celebrating the
religious and ethnic diversity of the city and of
Brazil. In addition to registering Abraham Path
in the Netherlands for European donor outreach,
this year saw the great success of our first ever
crowdfunding campaign! We raised over $32,000
thanks to social media outreach and the personal
passion of supporters like you. Thank you for
being such a supportive, enthusiastic family!

We want to express our deepest gratitude to those who donated in 2015:

Herve Aaron
Najah Abouelafia
Cheryl Alexander
Judith Ansara & Robert Gass
Gidon Ariel
Loes & Stan Asmus
Molly Baldridge
Joe Bamberg
David Baum
Simon C. Bell
Jerome Bellion-Jourdan
Alice Bender
Mark Biddle
Ihab Bishara
Anders Bjerkholt
Sergio Bondi
Charles & Jonelle Boteler
Ellen Brock & Larry Kaptein
Branwen Cale
James Carty
Connery Cepeda
Alexandre Chade
Adolf Chang
Jean Pierre Chatelain
Gabrielle Chatelain
Colleen Clark
Alice Clough
Ty Cobb
Bert & Barbara Cohn
Susan Collin Marks

Michael Collins & Beverley

Freeman
Cynda Collins Arsenault &
Marcel Arsenault
Rich Curd
Shaynna Cutler
David Dantzic
Lance Davis
Roger de Freitas
Julie de Gongre
Zachary DuBow
Krzysztof Dziedzic
Celeste en Lennard Scholtz
Keith & Lorraine Fairmont
Bob & Joan Feitler
The Flora Family Foundation
James Patrick Finerty
Elisabeth Forney
Mimi & Peter Frankel
Morris Friedell
David Friedman
Benjamin Friedman
Terry Gilman
Ellen Giordano
Stephen Goldberg
Morton Goldfein
Anthony Gonzalez
Claire Lieberman Goulding
Catherine & Matthew Grainger
Paul & Dedrea Gray

Marcia Greenblatt
Martin Grottenthaler
Isabelle Guy
Susan Hackley & Paul Henry
Nohad Harati
Matt Harms
Leigh Harrison
Thomas Hast
John Hawks
Katrin Henkel
Ronit Herzfeld
Frances & Timothy Hester
Fiona Hodgson
Daniel Hogan
Jenna Hornsby
Ron & Janet Hornsby
Sophie Howarth
Nancy Huntingford
Forsan Hussein
Katrina Jacobs
Nicolas Joly
Ginny Jordan
Hilary Kalisch
Tad Kelly
Ron & Sue Kertzner
Anthon Keuchenius
Laura Klemt
Susan Klemt
Saadi Neil D. Klotz
Dominik Knill

Anna-Marie Krahn
Buddy Kring & Ellen Dale
Otto Laurila
Stephane Le Cam
Judith Litjens
Katie Lunday
Donald & Lissa Lundgren
Cully Lundgren
Bettina Mller
Barry Madani & Dyala Roda
Jamil Mahuad
Veronica Martini
Cherise McGivern
Anisa Mehdi & Peter
Zimmerman
Rev. Elizabeth Mirante
Thomas Modern
Nicole Montgomery
Hana Neasov
JS Nol
Tyler Norris
Simon Olsen
Lene Ostergaard
Christie Platt
Oliver Pospisil
Bernard Prat
Mary Elizabeth Pratt
Neil & Trudie Prior
Barbara Reiner
Lis Rhodes
Elsi Rizvanolli
Riana Robert

Jane Roberts
Judy Robinson
Debbie Rolfes
Craig Rosenberg
Russ Rosenzweig & Lucy Liu
Rosenzweig
Ron Rubenstein
Amaia Snchez-Cacicedo
Frank, Thomas & Alison
Sander
The Sandpiper Fund
Zeynep Satana
Jerome Sauvage
Lionel & Ariane Sauvage
Stefan Schtz
Ivan Schouker & Cynthia
Anderson
James K. Sebenius &
Nancy Buck
Martina Sedlakova
Linda Sena
Ross Sherbrooke
Dorothy Sherwood
Louise Sibley
Fay Simcock
Dick Simon
Ian & Caroline Smith
Bud & Charlotte Sorenson
Jan Stahl & Cynthia Ruggero
Charles Steinberg &
Torkin Wakefield
John Steiner & Margo King

Hannah Stork
Stefan Szepesi &
Kirsten Asmus
Raymond Taraila
Nelson Teixeira
Jocelyn Tetel
Peter & Barbara Thornton
Mark Tinglof
Carl and Tinbet Tinstman
Barbara Trager
Dan Urbach
Gabi Ury
William & Lizanne Ury
Andrew & Lucie Ury
Elizabeth Ury
Brenda Valiente
Sharon & Leaf van Boven
Philip Van Dyke
John Vermilye
Jan Volkmer
Victor Weisberg
Josh Weiss
Rick & Rebecca White
Mary White
Kelsey Whiting-Jones
Glenn Whitney & Conner
Middelman-Whitney
Andrew Wilson
Mark Yolleck
Anonymous

Board of Directors
Board members and friends
walking in Jordan in March 2015

Our work would not be possible without the leadership

and commitment of our Board of Directors:
William Ury | Chair

Mona Adeljawad

Vernica Martini

Stefan Szepesi

Anisa Mehdi | Vice-Chair

Alexandre Chade

James Sebenius

Josh Weiss

Raed Saadeh | Vice-Chair

Paul Gray

Ivan Schouker

Aseel Zahran

Lionel Sauvage | Vice-Chair

Jamil Mahuad

Louise Sibley

Financial InfoRMATION
2014
World Bank Income: 32%
Other Institutional Income + Interest: 3%
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 57%
In-Kind Donations: 8%

Administration: 20%
Program: 80%

2015

Total Income
$1,410,765

Total Income
$2,036,899

Expenses:
$1,171,744

Expenses:
$1,980,077

World Bank Income: 53%

Other Institutional Income + Interest: 1%
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 41%
In-Kind Donations: 5%

Administration: 20%
Program: 80%
*Audited financials will be made available
as soon as 2015 audit is complete.

Partners
In partnership with the Harvard
Program on Negotiation, API held
our first ever public symposium,
which was attended by over
100 guests from throughout the
community, and featured expert
speakers from around the world.

USA Mailing Address:

USA Physical Address:

European Address:

UK FRIENDS OF ABRAHAM PATH:

Abraham Path Initiative

PO Box 473
Concord, MA 01742
USA

Abraham Path Initiative

1563 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
USA

Abraham Path Initiative

PO BOX 25209
3001 HE Rotterdam
Netherlands

Friends of Abraham Path

7 Mill Plat, Isleworth
London TW7 6DY
United Kingdom