Tatweer wa Nahda emerged as a response to unmet needs in the southern villages in the Hebron region known as the “west Line”, which were grouped into the Al Yassaria local authority (Deir Samet, Al kum, Beit Awwa).  The extent and seriousness of these needs was brought home when the current Elected Chair of the association, Ms. Sarah Awawdi, was employed as a surveyor in the national Palestinian census of the late 90s. 

As part of that work, Sarah went from house to house throughout her entire village (Dir Samet) to complete questionnaires on the occupants, infrastructures, livelihoods, and other aspects of each household.  Through speaking to members of very diverse households within her community she became more acutely and systematically aware of a range of problems facing this and other communities in the Al Yassaria area, and that they had nowhere to turn. 

At first she struggled to connect these people and families to the relevant authorities or organizations that might offer resources and opportunities, but soon found there was no organization that could effectively address many of these.  So she decided to gather together a group of women to establish one. 

In order to do so, Sarah approached a clearing-house for NGO activities.  They detailed the demanding and lengthy procedures needed for registering a new organization, and suggested that, instead, her group take an existing and already registered but dormant organizational entity.  Specifically, their records showed that Tatweer wa Nahda (literally “development and flourishing”) Society, which had been established in 2003 (July 31) had disbanded after two years of operation, and remained registered but inactive for many years.  Sarah’s group decided to pursue this path, and held general elections in January 2009.  The organization is known, thus, as the Al Yassaria Women’s Association (AYWA), with its formal registered name being Tatweer wa Nahda.

Sarah was elected as the Director of the organization, with a governing board of 7 officers of women.  Since then, the organization has been operating, with a membership of 129 women and men.  The organization holds a general meeting twice each year, and the minutes of these meetings are filed with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Social Affairs.  In addition, the board meets more frequently to make programmatic and resource allocation decisions, and different organization members are asked to take on a role on a project-by-project basis. 

In 2012, Tatweer wa Nahda opened its office in Deir Samit, from where it organizes capacity building events, meetings, data collection, and outreach activities. In August 2022, the organization opened a shop of stationary supplies for school students, to encourage education and creative activities.