Occupied Palestinian Territories: Gaza Emergency Appeal

Since June 2007, after Hamas took leadership in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets into Israel, the Government of Israel (GoI) increased restrictions on access of goods and people to and from Gaza. These have severe consequences for the daily life of the 1.48 million Palestinians living in Gaza.

Since then:

• More Gazans than ever need food and direct assistance
• Fuel shortages have threatened essential services and water supply
• Life-saving treatments are not available in Gaza's hospitals
• 17 per cent of patients with referrals were refused exit for treatment in Israel, East Jerusalem or overseas
• The on-going isolation of Gaza threatens the local economy
• Baby milk, medicines, and cooking oil are increasingly scarce
• Hundreds of businesses have gone bankrupt due to ban on imports/exports
• Thousands of labourers have lost their jobs due to the collapse of the building industry
• Building projects worth US$370 million are on hold indefinitely

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DONATION

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Gaza appeal

In June 2006, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA launched an appeal in response to a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and urgent requests for assistance from our local partners - MA'AN Development Centre and El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital. Unfortunately, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is ongoing.

The appeal has raised over A$64,000 to date. Approximately A$59,000 has been disbursed to our Palestinian partners to be used in projects to provide emergency food parcels and medical relief, as well as to strengthen the food security options for Palestinian families throughout the Gaza Strip.

Thank you to the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA donors who have generously supported this appeal and in particular to the fundraising efforts of the Palestine Relief Fund, a local Australian community organisation, who raised A$11,000 for these appeal programs in Gaza.

LATEST PROGRAM - HEN DISTRIBUTION PROJECT, August 2007
Partner agency: MA'AN Development Centre

In further efforts to bolster the food security of Gaza families, funds raised in Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA ongoing appeal for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has provided A$17,730 to a project distributing hens to approximately 54 Palestinian women and their families in Jout al-Lout village outside Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Poverty and conflict quickly exhaust family coping mechanisms, leaving a family increasingly vulnerable to deteriorating health and living conditions. Securing a family's food production resources is a major way to meet a family's health and nutrition needs, as well as providing the possibility of increasing and sustaining a source of income for the family. MA'AN Development Centre has extensive experience with food security programs throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The project report is forthcoming.

REPORT ON MEDICAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM, January-March 2007
Partner agency: El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital

El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital is the only facility which provides medical support and services for severely disabled Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. With 2.3 percent of the Gazan population of 1.4 million suffering some form of physical disability, the El Wafa Hospital is the only place where patients - and their families - can access not only the technical aids needed to live with their disability, such as wheelchairs or crutches, but also the psychosocial support and community reintegration programs required to help them to live independently back in their communities.

With thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Palestine Relief Fund, a local Australian community organisation, and the generous support of the many donors to our recent appeals for Gaza, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA forwarded A$15,000 to the El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City.

Below are excerpts from El Wafa Hospital's report on the project activities
These funds have helped to purchase technical aids for the disabled patients of the Hospital - wheelchairs, air mattresses, pronial braces, cane rubbers, arm slings, knee braces, medical mats. The project directly assisted 125 patients (72 male, 53 female), and indirectly assisted 250 caregivers and family members of physically challenged people.

The Occupational Therapy department and Physical Therapy department utilised these aids during daily training with patients admitted to the inpatient department and clients of the outpatient department. The outpatient department treats approximately 70 cases per day while the inpatient department treats all cases admitted to El-Wafa medical rehabilitation hospital, with a current capacity of 52 beds. There is a 90 to 100% occupancy rate.

Technical aids were very helpful in assisting physically challenged people and newly injured persons achieve a considerable amount of self reliance and independence. They used these technical aids to transfer from bed, move about in their neighbourhoods, visit places where they used to go, and carry out their very basic needs.

Case report - Rafat Abu Sitta is a 35 year old male from Khan Younis city, married with 5 children. Rafat became disabled as a result of cancer. Consequently he lost his job and was the sole breadwinner for his family. During a field visit to Rafat's rented home in Khan Younis, he started telling his story and how he ended up bedridden. Rafat's children are all too young to help him transfer from the bed to the floor or vice versa, and his wife was the only caregiver to look after her husband and children, as well as do all the housework, cooking, shopping etc. Rafat's dream was to be able to leave his room to see the street again and be able to talk to people once again. Thanks to this project, Rafat was provided with a wheelchair, which made it possible for him for the first time in five years go downtown with his children and buy them some school supplies.

REPORT ON FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM IN QARARA VILLAGE, January-March 2007
Partner agency: MA'AN Development Centre

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's appeal provided A$14,844 in funding to a program to enhance the food security of poor Palestinian families in Qarara village in the southern Gaza Strip. In an effort to provide an effective food security option for Palestinian families, MA'AN Development Centre provided each family with rabbits, cages and short training courses in animal husbandry. A small project such as this can help to diversify and improve a family's nutrition sources, while also providing an outlet for the family to earn an income from the sale of their rabbits' offspring.

Below are excerpts from MA'AN's report on the project activities
The project coordinators visited Qarara Village and met with the local committees representing the area community. With members of the community associations, they visited various parts of the area to gain a better sense of the size of the area. The social workers also visited many homes to witness on a case by case basis what was occurring at the home level to gain a better sense of which areas could spatially support the project. Further, they worked to ensure that the selected families had enough space to provide ample area for the planned rabbits cages and rabbits.

This project directly benefited forty families through access to meat produced through the rabbits' multiplication phenomena and utilization of training on animal husbandry. Socially, women will also enjoy increased confidence to participate in the work sector. The larger community will enjoy greater food security from access to rabbit's meat and increased income. The surrounding environment will improve due to the use of animal manure in gardens, replacing chemical inputs in agriculture.

REPORT ON EMERGENCY FOOD PARCELS, October 2006
Partner agency: MA'AN Development Centre

In July 2006, A$11,500 was forwarded to our local partner, MA'AN Development Centre, and used to provide 175 poor families - approximately 1280 people - with a month's supply of basic food necessities. Poor local farmers also benefited as their vegetables and fruit, which cannot be exported due to the Israeli closures and incursions, were purchased by MA'AN for this emergency program. Food assistance parcels were distributed over four regions:

• Al-Zarqa (North Gaza): 40 Parcels
• Beit Lahia: 50 Parcels
• Al-Zayoun District: 50 Parcels
• Gaza City (different areas): 35 Parcels

Each parcel contained 14 basic food items, such as flour, rice, sugar, vegetable oil, salt, beans, chickpeas etc. The following criteria were used to identify beneficiaries: family income, family size, female-headed households, families directly affected by the occupation, families who have not previously received other aid from other organisations.

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