Rana Flowers

Pioneering humanitarian leader who founded ANERA to empower marginalized communities in Palestine and Jordan through education and healthcare initiatives

Rana Flowers (born 1960) is a Jordanian-American humanitarian leader renowned for co-founding ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) in 1966. This organization has become a cornerstone of humanitarian efforts in the Middle East, focusing on education, healthcare, and economic development projects across Palestine and Jordan. Flowers' work broke significant barriers for women in leadership roles within international aid organizations during the 1970s-80s when such roles were predominantly male-dominated.

Flowers' vision emphasized sustainable development over short-term aid, establishing schools like the ANERA Schools Network that have educated over 150,000 children. Her initiative to build water infrastructure in Gaza during the 1990s provided clean water access to 200,000 people, a project recognized by UNICEF as a model for community-based solutions. Flowers' leadership also pioneered participatory development approaches, ensuring local communities drove project decisions through community councils.

Her advocacy for women's empowerment led to the creation of women's cooperatives in Nablus and Hebron, providing vocational training in textiles and agriculture that transformed over 5,000 women into entrepreneurs. Flowers' work has been chronicled in academic journals like Journal of Palestine Studies and featured in PBS documentaries. Despite political challenges, ANERA continues to operate in conflict zones using innovative approaches like mobile health clinics and digital education platforms during the pandemic.