Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi Organization (DTA) was founded in Jerusalem, on the 25th of April in the year 1948, by the late Ms. Hind Al-Husseini, the pioneer in voluntary work in Jerusalem. It is a charitable organization, formed to serve Palestinian orphans and needy children, providing them with good care, accommodation, education and entertainment. It was registered on the 7th of September in the year 1965 in the Jordanian Ministry of Social Affairs and labor records as a Society, under the name of Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi, with a record number 254j.

The idea of founding such an organization came to Ms. Hind Al-Husseini, right after the massacre of Deir Yassin, a small village located nearby Jerusalem, in the year 1948. The Israeli gangs invaded the village, demolished its houses and killed most of its residents.

Some managed to survive but were kicked out of their village to nearby places in Jerusalem. In between them were 55 children, whom the Israeli gangs killed their parents and relatives. They reached the Old City of Jerusalem and stayed near a wall between the Holy Sepulcher Church and Omar Mosque, feeling cold, discarded, sad and hungry.

It happened that Ms. Hind Al-Husseini was passing by from there, as she had to attend a meeting in the Old City. After knowing their story, she sheltered them in two small rooms in a small market in the Old City called “Souk Al-Hossor”.

Afterwards, she decided to form a society to take care of Palestinian orphan and needy children, under the name of Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi, in its recent location, as the number of these orphan and needy children increased day after day, due to the year 1948 war.

She formed a board of trustees, where she was its president; and with the help and the experiences of its members and the aid of her friends and DTA contributors, she managed to make her dream real.

Through the years, Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi has been developing and growing, offering its services to the whole Palestinian society in various fields.

Ms. Hind Al-Husseini passed away in the year 1994 and Ms. Mahira Dajani, later in the year 1995 took charge of the organization, where she is until now the president of its board of trustees.

* The first DTA Administrative Committee:

The first administrative committee for DTA was formed in the year 1949 including the following members:

- Hind Al-Husseini, Owner and DTA President

- Anwar Al-Khatib, the former chairman of Jerusalem Municipality

- Basima Fares, the former principal of Al-Ma’mouniyeh School

Many changes occurred on the committee where some members withdraw and some others joined. After the death of Ms. Hind Al-Husseini in the year 1994, a new board of trustees got formed in the year 1995 which is responsible of managing the institute till now.