Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? Manar heads a household of 7 in Khan Younis. Unemployed and without a fixed income, Manar hauls merchandise for businesses in a rented donkey cart and lives on approximately $2 a day after paying…
Palestinian children are growing up with a deep sense of hopelessness and insecurity about their future. According to UNICEF, one in four children are in need of psychosocial support to prevent the progression of mental health disorders. Left untreated, children face major challenges from educational attainments to leading productive lives. In addition to our Ramadan…
Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? Once again, the blessed month of Ramadan is upon us, and we at KinderUSA would like to wish you and your families Ramadan Mubarak! It is difficult to read many of the stories coming…
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
A father of seven children, Mohammed worries each day how he will feed his family. Injured, and permanently disabled, Mohammed is unable to walk on his own and hence, confined to a wheelchair. Completely dependent on aid with no source of income, the family has received food primarily fromUNRWA. With the recent cuts to funding of…
| Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? |
| Manar heads a household of 7 in Khan Younis. Unemployed and without a fixed income, Manar hauls merchandise for businesses in a rented donkey cart and lives on approximately $2 a day after paying rent for the cart. His children range in age of 4-12 years old and have the needs of any child in school and growing. The family receives $33 a month in food aid from UNRWA who recently stated that over 1 million people in Gaza risk going hungry unless the international community fills the gapping whole in funding after cuts to the organization. Like many in Gaza today, Manar considers suicide “often” according to his wife, Maysoon, but the children are “too young and whatever we can do, we will do it to survive.” Also, like many in Gaza, two of their children require medical treatment, one in need of a cornea transplant and another congenital heart defect. A recipient of the Ramadan fresh food distribution, Maysoon was so elated. “We have not this much food in our home in months! I cannot remember the last time we had meat, and now we have living chickens! Please thank all the people who contributed. May Allah reward them all!” Your donations are coming at a critical time for Gazans, considerably improving their dire nutritional and living conditions. We are halfway to our goal this Ramadan and thank you all who have contributed to this program. Our work is only possible serving with your continued support. |
Palestinian children are growing up with a deep sense of hopelessness and insecurity about their future. According to UNICEF, one in four children are in need of psychosocial support to prevent the progression of mental health disorders. Left untreated, children face major challenges from educational attainments to leading productive lives.
In addition to our Ramadan food distribution, KinderUSA is supporting 1450 children from 7 areas of Gaza devastated by war and the ongoing blockade (approx. 200 children from each area). Local youth are paid a small stipend to act as mentors implementing activities during the month of Ramadan. Each area will implement balloon launching, parachute games, relay races, cultural competition, and story telling to name some of the activities. The beneficiary children were an integral part of the decision making process as to which games and programs to implement. “When we arrived to the area for the initial meeting, the children chased the bus!”, said Mohammed. “They are anxious to be a part of the fun.”
At the close of each day, a meal is provided with some children carrying the meals home to eat with their families, while others stay and break fast with their friends. Thank you to all who made this program possible for the children in Gaza!
Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates?
Once again, the blessed month of Ramadan is upon us, and we at KinderUSA would like to wish you and your families Ramadan Mubarak!
It is difficult to read many of the stories coming through from our field staff as they begin the Ramadan Farmers Fresh Food distribution. With over 68 per cent of households in the Gaza Strip food insecure, the reality on the ground speaks volumes with more people falling into poverty each year. It should have come as no surprise that when we sat down with our beneficiaries last year to map out future projects, they were clear, they wanted food.
The reason for growing numbers of food insecurity is limited, or no economic opportunity mostly due to the blockade, now in its 12th year. Mousa, a father of 7, is unemployed and relies on aid to feed his family. They live in a structure unfit and unsafe, cold in the winter and brutally hot in the summer. Field representatives interviewed Mousa during the vetting process of beneficiaries for the Ramadan fresh food distribution.
“I cannot provide food for my sons, there is no flour, and the fridge is empty. What difference, we have no electricity. This is not a life and I don’t know why we are still alive. I want my sons to live like all people in the world, but I cannot provide anything for them.” said Mousa through anger and tears.
Mousa expresses the level of hopelessness so many Gazan’s face today. KinderUSA will continue to support children and their families who rely on all of us to survive. For a cost of just $139 per family, we are able to increase food security and provide healthful food options during the month of Ramadan. Thank you to all who have already contributed. Our work is impossible without your continued support!
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
When you register to shop on Amazon smile, every time you make…
A father of seven children, Mohammed worries each day how he will feed his family. Injured, and permanently disabled, Mohammed is unable to walk on his own and hence, confined to a wheelchair. Completely dependent on aid with no source of income, the family has received food primarily fromUNRWA. With the recent cuts to funding of both UNRWA and USAID to Palestine, education, healthcare, shelter, and food support have worsened pushing families, like Mohammed’s, further to the edge.
The cutting of funding coupled with the blockade continues to be a source of deepening vulnerability for families across Gaza. Children are always the most vulnerable while heads of household do all within their means to provide food, mostly reducing diversity in their diets affecting the quality of nutrition.
“We usually sleep with our stomachs empty, giving our children what we have which is never enough,” said Mohammed’s wife Ayat. “I clean people’s houses to purchase some food which is limited. The children eat chips sometimes given by classmates.”
Mohammed and his family were recipients of the Ramadan Farmers Food distribution last year. “It was a very depressing time not knowing how I would feed my family during this holiest of months. I did not want to face my children,” said Mohammed.
Ayat was excited to learn they were receiving fresh food from the KinderUSA distribution. “I couldn’t believe that we would get the food basket. It calmed me down and cleared my mind”, she added. “It helped me preserve my dignity as I don’t have to work for my relatives this month. It made my husband happier and less depressed. For the first time in a long time we had joy in our home.” KinderUSA has completed field verification visits of our beneficiaries and ready to begin the first round of fresh vegetables, dairy, and live chickens for the Ramadan distribution. Sadly, the need is greater this year than the previous 17 Ramadan’s we have worked in Gaza. Our goal is to serve a minimum of 2500 families. With your generous donations, we can exceed that amount and carry beyond Ramadan. “It is staggering to think that in today’s age of robotics, thousands of children in Gaza go to sleep hungry, drink unsafe water, and live in a dangerous sanitation environment. We know we have a job to do and I am asking you to join us to bring food to as many children this Ramadan as we can,” Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, Chairperson KinderUSA.
Please consider making an online donation today of $50, $100, $250, or whatever you can to help expand our reach. Thank you.
Copyright © 2022 www.kinderusa.org