Heigar is a 58-year-old, mother of nine and has worked at Sidreh since its inception. Her life story exemplifies the impact of Sidreh's work on many women like her in the community.
She was born near Arad in 1952 after her tribe was displaced from their ancestral land, and Heigar was orphaned at an early age. In fifth grade, after her brothers decided that “girls don't belong in school,” she was forced to leave her studies, despite the pleas of her teacher and her own wishes. She had dreamt of being a teacher, yet she was stopped from achieving literacy as a child.
As an adult, she joined Sidreh's literacy group, learning to write and read both Arabic and Hebrew in just two years. She began to work at the Lakiya Negev Weaving Project run by Sidreh, and the income she earned there empowered her to begin taking part in her family's decision making and contributing to their income, gaining her the respect of her husband and peers.
Heigar is the only woman of her generation in the family who works outside of the home, and, thanks in part to ongoing support and development from Sidreh, she has gone on to become an accomplished weaver and a member of her village planning committee, while also completing Sidreh's tour-guide training course.
Although today Heigar says she is disappointed that she did not finish her studies when she was young, she is proud of her ability to read and write. Heigar says that being able to help her children with their schoolwork gave her pride and a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.
The importance of her story cannot be over stated, because literacy is uncommon among Bedouin women of her generation, yet you cannot have development without literacy – both for the individual and the community. So Heigar really feels she exemplifies the change she wants to see in the Bedouin society.