22/06/2009
Gaza: One year on
IR Response
Islamic Relief began distributing aid just hours after the conflict began and was one of the few aid agencies working on the ground throughout the emergency. Truckloads of food and medical aid were immediately sent to the main Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza and emergency supplies of food, blankets and survival kits were distributed to displaced families.
Food
The blockade of Gaza has left many Gazans unable to make a living while also creating shortages of basic food items. To help those who are unable to feed themselves, Islamic Relief has distributed 80,000 food parcels since the war to the poorest and most vulnerable people.
Five months after the war, Islamic Relief began a project to provide 25,000 children at risk of malnutrition with fortified milk and high energy biscuits on a daily basis.
Healthcare
Most of the 70 health clinics in Gaza are in urgent need of repairs, maintenance and equipment. Immediately after the war, Islamic Relief renovated eight primary health centres, and we have since repaired a further 32 while also providing them with medical equipment and furniture. In addition Islamic Relief established a new four-bed intensive care unit at Al Shifa hospital as well as a new blood bank that serves three local hospitals, including a new specialist children’s hospital.
During the last conflict around 700 people were so badly injured that they required amputations or were left physically disabled. To assist those living with physical disabilities, Islamic Relief is supporting the only artificial limbs centre in the Gaza Strip, which provides them with prosthetic limbs and allows them to live a more active life.
Education
During the conflict ten schools in Gaza were completely demolished, while a further 156 were partially damaged, leaving pupils with nowhere to study.
Immediately after the ceasefire Islamic Relief rehabilitated 20 damaged schools with support from DfID. Later we received funding from Reach Out to Asia to repair a further 22 schools throughout the Strip. As well as repairing damage to the school buildings, the project also provides libraries, laboratories, health rooms, computer labs and counselling rooms, benefitting thousands of students.
Livelihoods
The agricultural sector was severely affected by the last conflict as vast swathes of farm land were destroyed. Many irrigation systems were also damaged by the fighting, hampering farmers’ efforts to rehabilitate their lost livelihoods. To assist, Islamic Relief has so far built 12 agricultural wells, benefitting more than 500 individuals.
To assist families struggling without an income, we also initiated a Cash for Work scheme that provided 1,500 unemployed people whose homes had been destroyed with temporary work for three months, giving them a wage to help them through this difficult time.
Homes
During the 22-day war in Gaza more than 17,000 houses, government and public buildings were damaged, and more than 4,100 buildings were reduced to rubble. Islamic Relief is currently rehabilitating 200 damaged houses, providing families with a suitable place to live.
Psychosocial support
Immediately after the war we began a programme to provide more than 36,000 children with psychological support. Individual and group sessions were conducted in 50 schools across the Gaza Strip to help children traumatised by the conflict. We also opened a new centre with support from CAFOD which provides psychological support to children and training and guidance to their parents.